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Patients who present with asthma exacerbations frequently are prescribed oral steroids in addition to inhaled β-agonists. Unfortunately, failure to adhere to the medication regimen can lead to repeat emergency department visits. These authors compared relapse rates in patients with acute asthma exacerbations who received oral tapering doses of methylprednisolone with rates in patients who received single intramuscular (IM) doses, which have a half-life of 18 to 36 hours.
In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, partially drug-company-funded study, a convenience sample of 190 patients with acute asthma exacerbations (defined according to American Thoracic Society guidelines) who presented to two EDs during a 5-year period were enrol…