Canadian Study - Drugs May Rob Breath, Not Save It

[Guest guest]

This is for all of you who might be able to use a little ammunition against

those loved ones who are so worried about your natural approach to health vs.

their Medical drug approach.

 

Reported July 16, 2007

Drugs May Rob Breath, Not Save It

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Drugs meant to keep people breathing easier may

actually be putting them at increased risk of dying from pneumonia.

Canadian investigators who studied more than 175,000 people with chronic

obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, found those on inhaled steroids were

significantly more likely to be hospitalized with pneumonia and, most

importantly,

significantly more likely to have a severe form of the disease leading to

death.

The drugs upped the overall pneumonia hospitalization rate by 70 percent.

They increased the likelihood of dying within 30 days of a pneumonia

hospitalization by 53 percent. People taking higher doses of the medications

were the most

affected.

These findings are troublesome, report the researchers, because inhaled

steroid use among COPD patients has risen markedly over the past 20 years. In

1987,

about 13 percent of COPD patients were taking the drugs. By 1995, that figure

had risen to more than 41 percent.

The researchers aren't sure how inhaled steroids, which reduce inflammation

in the airways, ostensibly allowing for better airflow and thus better

breathing, could be contributing to pneumonia, especially since they do reduce

overall

flare-ups of the disease. But a fellow investigator writing in an

accompanying editorial believes the association, while surprising, is real,

noting

previous studies have also suggested at such a link.

" The finding of an association between pneumonia frequency and inhaled

corticosteroid use in studies of different design, in different populations, and

with evidence of a dose–response relationship means that the findings may be

real

and that these observations cannot simply be dismissed, " writes Mark

Woodhead, D.M., from the Manchester Royal Infirmary in Manchester, United

Kingdom.

" The issue requires prospective evaluation in further large studies of

inhaled corticosteroids using objective pneumonia definitions. Maybe more

surprises

await us? "

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by

e-mail every day of the week. To , click on:

_http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/_ (http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/) .

SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published

online July 16, 2007

Good Luck! Rachel

 

 

 

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