Comparison of montelukast and budesonide on bronchial reactivity in subjects with mild-moderate persistent asthma

We studied 51 atopic non-smoking subjects who were divided to four treatments groups: (A) montelukast 10 mg daily, (B) budesonide 400 μg twice a day (bid), (C) montelukast 10 mg daily plus budesonide 400 μg bid and (D) budesonide 800 μg bid. Bronchial responsiveness was assessed before and after 12 weeks of treatment. The bronchial responsiveness, evaluated by means of PC 20 values, showed a strong significant increase in groups B, C and D, and a weak but significant rise in group A, when compared to basal data. Regarding other pulmonary parameters (FEV 1, PEF) there were no significant differences among the groups after 12 weeks of therapy. A statistical significance was founded after therapy between group A and C ( p