Strategies to screen and reduce adverse events in patients with asthma using systemic corticosteroids

This systematic review evaluated strategies designed to identify and screen patients with asthma who are at risk of developing adverse events linked to systemic corticosteroids, alongside approaches intended to mitigate these risks. The analysis focused on real-world practice settings rather than controlled trials, reflecting the complexity of managing chronic conditions like asthma in routine care. The review did not report a specific sample size, primary outcomes, or detailed secondary outcomes, limiting the ability to quantify the effectiveness of these screening and reduction strategies.

The evidence indicates that the use and abuse of systemic corticosteroids are almost invariably associated with the development of significant acute and chronic adverse events. While the review highlighted the importance of implementing strategies to screen for risk and reduce harm, it did not provide specific numerical data regarding the frequency of these adverse events or the rates of discontinuations. Tolerability and detailed safety profiles beyond the general association with adverse events were not reported in the source material.

Key limitations of this review include the lack of reported sample sizes, specific primary outcomes, and detailed safety metrics such as serious adverse events or discontinuation rates. Consequently, the practice relevance is framed around the general need to highlight and implement strategies for risk identification and reduction, rather than endorsing specific interventions based on robust quantitative evidence. Clinicians should interpret these findings as a call to vigilance regarding the inherent risks of systemic corticosteroids in asthma management.