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Influence of inhaled corticosteroids on growth: a pediatric endocrinologist's perspective
Author(s) -
Allen DB
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1998.tb00960.x
Subject(s) - medicine , inhaled corticosteroids , asthma , affect (linguistics) , perspective (graphical) , disease , intensive care medicine , pediatrics , philosophy , linguistics , artificial intelligence , computer science
Given the increasing advocacy for the use of inhaled corticosteroids as a treatment of choice for persistent asthma, growing numbers of children are being exposed to the possible growth‐suppressing effects of glucocorticoids. Recent evidence strongly suggests that, when consistently administered at moderate doses, inhaled corticosteroids (IC) are capable of slowing growth in children. Whether such growth suppression would persist and ultimately affect final adult height remains unknown. Therapeutic goals which aim for uninterrupted inflammatory disease control rather than periodic symptom control may increase the occurrence of growth failure in children treated with IC. In this article, current information about the mechanisms of growth suppression by glucocorticoids and the effects of IC on growth is reviewed, and recommendations for designing studies to investigate the effects of drugs on growth are presented.