Combined Beta Agonists and Methylxanthines in Asthma

To the Editor: The Food and Drug Administration has cautioned that coincident administration of beta agonists and methylxanthines in animals produces myocardial ischemic changes in some of them. 1 Wilson and Sutherland (Dec. 30, 1982, issue) 2 contend that the increased frequency of fatal asthma in patients in New Zealand who were 5 to 34 years of age was caused by this combination. Despite the FDA's warning, we cannot accept the circumstantial evidence given by Wilson and Sutherland that combined therapy with oral theophylline and inhaled beta agonists increases the risk of death from asthma. A similar increase in deaths has not . . . No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.