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- Title
Pediatric Asthma: Where Has Montelukast Gone?
- Authors
Maglione, Marco; Giannattasio, Antonietta; Pascarella, Antonia; Tipo, Vincenzo
- Abstract
At its introduction in the management of pediatric asthma, montelukast was regarded as a potentially revolutionary drug due to its mechanism of action and easy clinical applicability. Nevertheless, its use in daily practice and evidence from clinical trials have shown that, rather than a radical change in the approach to asthmatic children, montelukast more likely represents a second-line medication that is useful when inhaled steroids alone fail in providing adequate symptom control. Furthermore, increasingly reported side effects have raised concerns regarding its safety. In the last decade, several studies have tried to better define the strengths and drawbacks of montelukast both in preschool wheezing and school-age asthma. The present review summarizes the literature published on this topic since 2010, highlighting the often-controversial results and the unanswered questions regarding the role of montelukast in pediatric asthma. Moreover, advances in the understanding of the mechanisms of action of montelukast are reported. The main finding emerging from the present analysis is that montelukast application is likely to be useful in a subset of asthmatic children rather than in large groups of patients. Future studies should focus on the identification of biomarkers able to predict which patients will benefit from montelukast to achieve a more tailored prescription.
- Subjects
MONTELUKAST; ASTHMA; WHEEZE; CLINICAL trials; FLUTICASONE
- Publication
Applied Sciences (2076-3417), 2023, Vol 13, Issue 7, p4146
- ISSN
2076-3417
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/app13074146