title: [Is fenoterol therapy related to increased asthma mortality?].
abstract: Retrospective case-control studies suggest a connection between chronic treatment with fenoterol and other beta-2-agonists and increased mortality from asthma. These studies are extremely difficult to assess from a methodological point of view. They raise important questions, however, and force us to critically reevaluate our present therapeutic approach. In the acute situation, beta-2-agonists might be life-saving, and we must therefore be cautious in readily accepting a causal relationship between beta-2-agonist treatment and death from asthma. Probably, retrospective case-control studies are inadequate to establish a clear-cut association between beta-2-agonist therapy and death from asthma. This will require prospective randomized studies including large asthma populations providing accurate information on both chronic and acute drug treatment, and the end-point is death from asthma.
authors.affiliation: Lungeavdelingen Rikshospitalet Oslo.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boe
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kongerud
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bodd
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality*; D005280:Fenoterol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D005280:Fenoterol
vernacular_title: Fører fenoterolbehandling til øket astmadødelighet?