Asthma Care

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Back-to-School Asthma Control Resources

Retrospective Study
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Asthma-related hospitalizations were highest in September1
Help prepare your patients for back-to-school asthma control

In a retrospective study in Canada that analyzed 256,843 hospitalizations for asthma over a 13-year period (patient age range, 2 to 49 years), more children were hospitalized for asthma flare-ups in September than at any other time of the year.

Help prepare for school-related asthma risks with:

Annual cycles of asthma hospitalizations by age groups
Graph of Hospitalizations Due to Asthma

This figure represents the cycle of asthma hospitalizations by age group in Canada, by week of the year, from April 1990 to March 2003 (summarized over a single year).

Reprinted with permission from Johnston NW, Johnston SL, Norman GR, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006;117:557–562.

Study Design: Asthma hospitalization data were obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) for 256, 843 hospitalizations with a principal diagnosis of asthma that occurred in Canada, excluding Quebec, between April 1990 and March 2003. Data were aggregated into 3 age groups: children aged 5 to 15 years (82,899 hospitalizations), preschool children aged 2 to 4 years (74,361 hospitalizations), and adults aged 16 to 49 years (99,583) hospitalizations). Mathematic modeling determined the precise timing of the peak for each year and in each age group, and Poisson regression was used to examine possible trends in September over the study years.2

SINGULAIR is indicated for prophylaxis and chronic treatment of asthma in patients aged 12 months and older and for prevention of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in patients aged 15 years and older.

For prevention of EIB, a single dose of SINGULAIR should be taken at least 2 hours before exercise. An additional dose of SINGULAIR should not be taken within 24 hours of a previous dose.

Patients already taking 1 tablet daily for another indication should not take an additional dose to prevent EIB.

SELECTED SAFETY INFORMATION

  • SINGULAIR should not be used as rescue medication to treat acute asthma episodes. Patients should be advised to have appropriate rescue medication available.
  • Neuropsychiatric events have been reported in patients taking SINGULAIR. These events included agitation, aggressive behavior or hostility, anxiousness, depression, dream abnormalities, hallucinations, insomnia, irritability, restlessness, somnambulism, suicidal thinking and behavior (including suicide), and tremor. The clinical details of some postmarketing reports appear consistent with a drug-induced effect. Patients should be advised to report any neuropsychiatric events.
  • Use of SINGULAIR may not eliminate the need for inhaled or systemic corticosteroids. Patients should not decrease the dose or stop taking any other antiasthma medications unless instructed by a physician.
  • Safety and effectiveness of SINGULAIR in patients younger than 12 months with asthma have not been established.

Before prescribing SINGULAIR, please read the Prescribing Information.

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20951836(5)-02/10-SNG

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