title: Effects of corticosteroids on lung function in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
abstract: Both oral and inhaled corticosteroids have clinically significant effects on symptoms, exacerbations, health status, and lung function in asthma, and to a lesser extent in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Change in FEV(1) does not correlate well with functional tests in COPD and may not be the best measure of response to treatment. Inhaled corticosteroids may be beneficial when added to a beta-agonist for treatment of acute asthma, and the efficacy of oral corticosteroids in this setting is well established. Oral corticosteroids inconsistently improve lung function in stable outpatients with COPD. Individual inhaled corticosteroids do not have a marked effect, but the combination of fluticasone propionate and salmeterol and the combination of budesonide plus formoterol seem to improve FEV(1) over treatment with the individual components. In addition, there is convincing evidence for the use of systemic corticosteroids during acute exacerbations of COPD. Some evidence suggests that patients with COPD who respond to corticosteroids have eosinophilic inflammation and other attributes of an asthma phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4125 Bioinformatics Bldg., CB 7020, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7020, USA. jdonohue@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Donohue
authors.forename: Jill A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ohar
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents