ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS FOR SEVERE, CHRONIC ASTHMA

The current focus of treatment for chronic asthma is anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals and minimizing of environmental factors that contribute to airway inflammation. Despite the development of increasingly potent inhaled glucocorticoids, certain select asthmatic patients require chronic systemic glucocorticoids for management. Several nonglucocorticoid, anti-inflammatory agents have been shown or suggested to be beneficial in the treatment of chronic asthma. The major purpose of using these agents has been to maximize airway function and to minimize the use of systemic glucocorticoids, with their attendant side effects. Some of these alternative anti-inflammatory agents are reviewed in this paper, with emphasis on clinical experience in the treatment of asthma. Additional double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are necessary to define the role of these agents in the management of chronic asthma.