The long-term use of beclomethasone dipropionate for the control of severe asthma in children.

Thirty-nine children with severe asthma who had been treated with aerosol inhalations of beclomethasone dipropionate for 33 to 34 months were studied. Twenty-eight were still benefitting from the drug, thrush had occurred in three, and only six of the 20 originally steroid-dependent now required steroid orally. The authors feel that this is an efficacious, safe medication but stress that systemic steroid therapy should be promptly reinstituted during acute exacerbations in steroid-dependent patients.