Constant P. van Schayck (Department of General Practice, Nijmegen University, the Netherlands): "We investigated the effects of chronic, continuous use of bronchodilators in asthma and chronic bronchitis. The possibly adverse effects of bronchodilators on the prognosis of asthma and chronic bronchitis is a topical subject nowadays. Long-term studies on this subject are scarce. These studies have begun to appear in the last few years, and they do not seem to justify the fear (or even panic) among patients and doctors of using these bronchodilators.
"It is true that several publications have pointed to the possibly adverse effects of these drugs. However, none of these publications have real-ly proved that bronchodilators are dangerous in the long run. In several epidemiological studies an association was found between the prescription of b2-adrenergic drugs and asthma mortality (J. Crane, et al., Lancet, 1:917-22, 1989; W.O. Spitzer, et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 326:501-6, ...
