This molecule is a hope to control this disease in children.
Dr. Carlos Báez Loyola, Director of the Asthma and Allergy Clinic of the Hospital Médica Sur, commented that in Mexico asthma is among the top 15 causes of mortality in the general population and more than 4 thousand deaths are registered annually due to crises that occur more frequently in certain periods of the year such as the winter season. At this time the risk of respiratory diseases increases, especially in children and adults over 65 years of age, who are the most vulnerable groups.
Currently more than half of school-age children with asthma are not well controlled despite receiving treatment. ? In many cases increasing the dose of any of them does not offer more benefits. And is that the usual medication only relieves inflammation of the airways and bronchospasm, but does not offer a definitive solution, so that patients experience a progressive increase (exacerbation) of symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, wheezing and chest tightness , giving rise to what is known as crisis or exacerbations ?, says dr. Jorge Iván Rodríguez Matínez.
A good pharmacological treatment is not only one that controls the clinical manifestations of the disease, functional stability and reduces the use of rescue medications, but also foresees future relapses. But the good news is that there is now an encouraging new therapeutic option for parents of young children with asthma who remain symptomatic, as it was discovered that adding tiotropium to maintenance treatment not only improves symptoms, but also reduces the risk of exacerbations that represent an expense of more than 15% of family income and are the main reason for medical emergencies, hospitalization and premature death.
Dr. Gabriel Escobedo Arenas, a pulmonologist at the La Raza National Medical Center of the IMSS, said that bronchial asthma is a chronic disease that has no cure and one of the most common causes of school absenteeism. ? Mainly affects the child population and there are genetic and environmental factors that interact to develop it: hereditary predisposition to present allergies, family history (asthmatic father or mother), contact with airborne allergens (mites, environmental fungi , pollen, etc.), exposure to viral infections in the first months or years of life or irritants such as tobacco smoke; even a personal history of poorly controlled allergic rhinitis or obesity?
For this reason, he stated that, in addition to a timely diagnosis, the goal of treatment is that the little ones can lead a normal life. In this sense, he emphasized that self-control education is fundamental in the success of comprehensive treatment, which implies that it is very important that both minors, their parents and teachers are informed about the disease, and learn to make shared decisions with your specialist doctor when choosing treatment and dosage.
And, despite the fact that asthma is currently well treated, many pediatric patients do not respond well to the usual medications , have little therapeutic adherence or make inappropriate use of their inhalers, and it is in this group that The addition of tiotropium gives the opportunity to achieve control ?, he highlighted.