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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma
Published on: November 4, 2010
[Long-acting beta-2 agonists in pediatric asthma therapy--friend or foe]
Herbert Kurz1, Ernst Eber, Thomas Frischer
1Abteilung für Kinder- und Jugendheilkunde, Sozialmedizinisches Zentrum Ost--Donauspital, Wien. herbert.kurz@wienkav.at
Abstract:
Recent publications suggest that long-acting beta-2 agonists (LABAs) increase the risk for death in asthma. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a relevant alert in 2005. In the currently valid Austrian consensus guidelines for drug therapy of bronchial asthma in children and adolescents, LABAs are only recommended as add-on therapy in those patients whose asthma is not sufficiently controlled by inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) alone. LABAs have no established role in earlier steps of the therapeutic algorithm; consequently, the prescription of ICS-LABA combinations for initial treatment of paediatric asthma is not supported by these consensus treatment guidelines.
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