According to a study published in the January 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assocation (JAMA), the commonly used reflux medication lansoprazole (Prevacid), part of the family of medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs,) does not help control asthma in children who do not experience reflux symptoms. A previous study found that esomeprazole (Nexium,) another PPI, did not help asthma in adults.
Children with asthma that is difficult to control are often prescribed these medications, with the hope that control of "silent" reflux will help improve asthma control. This study, unfortunately, found that this practice is ineffective in children who have not displayed signs of reflux related symptoms. Even when looking only at children with proven reflux by pH probe monitoring, there was no improvement seen in asthma control when taking PPIs. Since children in this study who were taking reflux medicine had a higher rate of respiratory infection, and showed a trend toward an increased rate of activity-related bone fractures, this treatment may be incurring some risk without clear benefit. Martinez FD "Children, asthma, and proton pump inhibitors: costs and perils of therapeutic creep" JAMA 2012; 307: 406-407.
Dr. Kenneth Backman of Allergy & Asthma Care points out: "While this is only one pediatric study, it raises important questions about the clinical benefit of PPIs in asthma control, when patients do not experience reflux symptoms. If asthma improvement is not clearly seen on PPI treatment, it is worth considering a trial off these medications."
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