Singulair reduces child asthma doctor visits

US drug major Merck & Co says that the short-term addition of Singulair (montelukast) to usual asthma therapy for six weeks after return to school could substantially reduce asthma morbidity and unscheduled physician visits during this predictably high-risk period, according to a new study published in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

A team of Canadian researchers found that asthmatic children aged two to 14, randomly assigned montelukast in addition to their regular therapy, experienced half the number of days with worsened asthma symptoms than those on placebo (3.9% versus 8.3%; p<.02)1. The montelukast group were also four times less likely to require unscheduled medical intervention for asthma symptoms (78% decrease; p=0.011).

UK studies have demonstrated that the number of admissions of children with asthma is seasonal with a large peak in the fall and a smaller one in spring. The sharp rise in September is probably a combination of viral infection and increased exposure to airborne allergens. When children with asthma are re-exposed to risk factors on returning to school, lack of an adequate controller medication may increase their risk of worsening asthma, Merck noted.