(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Daily treatment with an inhaled steroid is the best way to keep kids with asthma breathing easy.

Government researchers arrived at that conclusion after comparing three different types of asthma controller medications in nearly 300 children between ages 6 and 14 who were diagnosed with mild to moderate persistent asthma. Results reveal kids who received an inhaled steroid were more in control of their disease. Kids who took the inhaled steroid by itself fared the best, with the greatest improvements in pulmonary function tests.

The study compared the inhaled steroid fluticasone (Flonase) to a fluticasone/salmeterol (Serevent) combination (salmeterol is another type of inhaled drug called a long-acting beta2 agonist) and the tablet montelukast (Singulair). Some doctors prefer the tablet, which is not a steroid, because of research suggesting inhaled steroids can stunt the growth of children. However, researchers found no statistically significant effects on growth for any of the medications in this study.

The authors write their finding support current National Institutes of Health guidelines recommend the use of inhaled steroids as the first-line treatment for children with mild to moderate asthma.

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SOURCE: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2007;119:64-72