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`Inhalation therapy for asthma treatment has fewer side effects'

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, MAY 2. The benefits of inhalation therapy for controlling asthma were stressed at two events in the city.

G.R.Sethi, paediatric pulmonologist, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, said inhaled drugs were better for asthma treatment than systematic drugs as they reached the target organ directly. Delivering the 13th Dr.M.S.Ramakrishnan Endowment Memorial Oration on `Aerosol Therapy of Childhood Asthma— Past, Present and Future,' he said inhalation therapy caused fewer side effects such as cardiovascular stimulation, anxiety and muscle tremor.

The oration was organised by the Dr. M.S. Ramakrishna Memorial Endowment Oration Committee and the Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital.

Dr. Sethi detailed the aerosol delivery systems available in India — nebulisers, dry powder inhalers and metered dose inhalers — and the merits and de-merits of the systems of delivery. He said the system of treatment should be determined by the efficacy of the device, the patient's age, the state of asthma and the product cost.

However, parents and even physicians were "wary of inhalers, as they seem to believe that they are habit-forming," he added.

At a public awareness meeting, R. Sridharan, asthma and allergy specialist, said the stumbling block to effective asthma treatment was the concerns of parents and members of the medical fraternity on the `safety' of inhaled cortesoids. As a result, he said, the condition often went undiagnosed. Underlining the efficacy and safeness of inhaled asthma treatment, Dr. Sridharan said it was important to make asthma an `acceptable diagnostic problem.'

Members of the public shared their experiences of asthma treatment and their fears.

Dr Sridharan gave them advice on how to manage the problem.

The event was organised in view of the World Asthma Day, which falls on the first Tuesday in May.

Earlier, at the Dr.M.S. Ramakrishna Oration, the chief guest, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras, S.P. Thyagarajan, said that as 7-8 per cent of asthma was detected in individuals from developing countries, more research in this area was needed.

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