Steroid treatment is presently one of the most common options for asthma but some children may respond positively while some may not respond at all, according to a new study presented at the American Thoracic Society.

Gregory Sawicki, M.D. of Children’s Hospital in Boston said that the study results suggested the fact that not all children suffering from asthma respond to steroid treatment in the same manner.

From News-Medical.Net:

“The majority of children with mild asthma are less likely to have symptoms as they get older and may not need to be on daily steroids,” Dr. Sawicki said. “The flip side is that if a child has poor asthma control, the parents and doctor need to make sure the child is adhering to their inhaled steroid treatment. But variation in response to inhaled steroids, as other medications, is well described.”

The data comes from the Child Asthma Management Program Continuation Study (CAMPCS), one of the largest groups of children with mild to moderate asthma in the nation who have been followed over 10 years. “This study gives us a good sense of real-world practice in asthma management,” Dr. Sawicki says. “The children’s care is not directed by anyone in the study; it’s an observation of what goes on when the children’s care is directed by their own physicians.”

Sawicki further said that asthma control cannot be managed even if high doses of inhaled steroids are administered, much like all adult asthmatic patients do not benefit from steroids.