A prospective study of respiratory infection in asthmatic patients treated with beclomethasone dipropionate and sodium cromoglycate.

A prospective study of forty adult asthmatic patients attending two chest clinics in the City of Liverpool was undertaken. All patients had reversible airways obstruction and were under treatment with either beclomethasone dipropionate or sodium cromoglycate. Satisfactory symptomatic control was achieved in both groups of patients on a subjective basis, but there was a statistically significant (P less than 0-001) reduction in the number of admissions to hospital in the treatment year compared to the preceding 12 months in the beclomethasone aerosol group. No increased incidence of lower respiratory tract infections or non-specific sore throats was found in either group studied. No cases of clinical oral Candida infection occurred in the beclomethasone aerosol treated patients. It is concluded that beclomethasone dipropionate in aerosol form is not only a safe and effective method for symptomatic control of adult bronchial asthma but is also economically worthwhile as a means of reducing hospital admissions in this vulnerable group of patients.