Should corticosteroids be used in the treatment of acute, severe asthma? I. A case for the use of corticosteroids in acute, severe asthma.

Corticosteroids have been used for over 3 decades in the treatment of asthma. There are theoretic reasons and long-standing clinical support for their use, but little in the way of good objective data on their efficacy. I have reviewed this information and concluded that notwithstanding rare side effects, corticosteroids should be used in acute asthma, and objective data exist to support this premise.