The PREVIA study was designed to investigate the role of montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, in the prevention of viral-induced asthma exacerbations in children aged 2 to 5 years with a history of intermittent asthma symptoms. The study was a 12-month multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group study of patients with asthma exacerbations associated with respiratory infections and minimal symptoms between episodes. Patients were randomized to receive oral montelukast 4 or 5 mg (depending on age) (n = 278) or placebo (n = 271) once per day for 12 months. Caregivers recorded children's symptoms, beta-agonist use, and health care resource use in a diary card. Over 12 months of therapy, montelukast significantly reduced the rate of asthma exacerbations by 31.9% compared with placebo. The average rate of exacerbation episodes per patient was 1.60 episodes per year on montelukast compared with 2.34 episodes on placebo. Montelukast also delayed the median time to first exacerbation by approximately 2 months (p = 0.024), and the rate of inhaled corticosteroid courses (p = 0.027) compared with placebo. Montelukast effectively reduced asthma exacerbations in 2- to 5-year-old patients with intermittent asthma over 12 months of treatment and was generally well tolerated.

The present paper reports on a striking increase in undesirable drug induced reactions during simultaneous administration of high-dosage phenobarbital and beta-lactam antibiotics to children in intensive care. In a 30-month study period, reactions which had to be classified as drug-induced were seen in 24 out of a total of 49 children (mainly exanthematous skin reactions, in some cases severe). The complications were mainly observed in patients receiving a combination of cefotaxime and phenobarbital. Etiologically, a toxic reaction to the combination of hepatically metabolized beta-lactam antibiotics with an enzyme-inducing drug must be considered in addition to the allergenic potential of the individual components.