A systematic review of published research suggests that taking a leukotriene-receptor antagonist (LTRAs) tablet significantly improves asthma control and reduces the risk for an exacerbation in adults and adolescents with asthma. The evidence review is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases. Successful long-term management may include the use of inhaled corticosteroids, the current gold standard of maintenance treatment. LTRAs offer an advantage over inhaled medications because they can be taken in pill form once or twice a day and are not associated with the adverse effects that come with long-term corticosteroid use.
Researchers conducted a systematic review of randomized, controlled trials that compared the efficacy and safety of LTRAs with placebo in adults and adolescents with asthma. The data suggest that administration of LTRAs significantly reduced the risk for an exacerbation. In trials where LTRAs were used alone (monotherapy), LTRAs significantly improved asthma control compared with placebo, whereas only some measures of asthma control were significantly improved in trials of LTRAs used as add-on therapy to inhaled corticosteroids. The authors caution that it is not clear from the research which patients would benefit most from treatment with LTRAs and more research is needed.
Review: Leukotriene-Receptor Antagonists Versus Placebo in the Treatment of Asthma in Adults and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Michael Miligkos, MD, MS; Raveendhara R. Bannuru, MD, PhD; Hadeel Alkofide, MS, PhD; Sucharita R. Kher, MD; Christopher H. Schmid, PhD; and Ethan M. Balk, MD, MPH, Annals of Internal Medicine, doi:10.7326/M15-1059, published online 22 September 2015.