The European journal of general practice
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Early intervention with inhaled corticosteroids in subjects with rapid decline in lung function and signs of bronchial hyperresponsiveness: results from the DIMCA programme.
Asthma is generally accepted as an inflammatory disease that needs steroid treatment. However, when to start with inhaled steroids remains unclear. A study was undertaken to determine when inhaled corticosteroids should be introduced as the first treatment step. ⋯ In this study, the early introduction of inhaled corticosteroids in newly diagnosed asthmatic subjects with rapid decline in lung function did not prove to be either clinically relevant or statistically significant in reversing the decline in FEV(1). For PC(20), no significant changes were detected.