Purpose of the Study. To determine if the deterioration in lung function, seen in adults with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), could be reversed or slowed by the addition of inhaled beclomethasone. Many short-term studies have shown the benefits of inhaled steroids in asthma; in particular, their ability to improve pulmonary function, decrease bronchial hyperreactivity, and reduce symptoms. Few studies have evaluated the long-term effects of inhaled steroids on the clinical course of either asthma or COPD.
Methods. This report is an extension of a 2-year study that followed 160 patients with asthma or COPD on bronchodilator therapy alone. From this group, 56 patients who displayed a rapid decline in pulmonary function (FEV1 ≥ 80 ml/year) and a high exacerbation rate (≥1/year) were selected to receive additional treatment with beclomethasone dipropionate 400 µg two times daily over 4 years. FEV1 and airways responsiveness to histamine were measured every 6 months and at 1 and 13 months upon completion of the study. Peak flows and symptom scores were recorded weekly, and compliance, inhaler technique, and adverse affects were monitored every 3 months.
Findings. During the first 6 months of beclomethasone treatment, both groups showed a significant improvement in pre- and postbronchodilator FEV1 with the most significant change noted in the asthma group. Thereafter, the FEV1 began to decline again, as it had in the first 2 years of the study, but at a rate that was 33% slower. In addition to slowing the decline in FEV1, inhaled beclomethasone resulted in a substantial decrease in the degree of bronchial hyperreactivity, and peak flow rates improved.
Effects of long term inhaled high dose beclomethasone dipropionate on adrenal function.
