ArticleThorax2023
Observational UK cohort study to describe intermittent oral corticosteroid prescribing patterns and their association with adverse outcomes in asthma.
Article in Thorax, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Exploring the Relationship between Inhaled Corticosteroid Usage, Asthma Severity, and Sleep-Disordered Breathing: A Systematic Literature Review.Advances in respiratory medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Prevalence of type 2 multimorbidities in COPD compared to asthma and relationship to blood eosinophilic counts.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Transient Oral Corticosteroid Use and Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Mild-to-Moderate Asthma: A Case-Crossover Study.Drug safety · 2026Article
- Review
- Development and Internal Validation of a Prediction Model for Major Cardiovascular and Respiratory Events in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Nationwide Primary Care Electronic Medical Records Cohort Study.Pragmatic and observational research · 2026Article
- The Risk-Benefit Balance of Oral Corticosteroid Treatment for Asthma Attacks: A Discrete Choice Experiment of Patients and Healthcare Professionals in the UK and New Zealand.Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) · 2025Article
- Identifying and Addressing the Hidden Risks of Mild Asthma.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2025Article
- Beyond Antihistamines: How Biologic and Small-Molecule Therapies Are Transforming Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria Care in Adults.Clinical drug investigation · 2025Review
- Review
- Biomarker profile and disease burden associated with intermittent and long-term oral corticosteroid use in patients with severe asthma prior to biologic initiation in real-life (STAR).The World Allergy Organization journal · 2025Article
- Beyond Clinical Remission: Redefining Disease Control in Severe Asthma?Allergy, asthma & immunology research · 2025Article
- Real-World Effectiveness of Fluticasone Furoate/Umeclidinium/Vilanterol Initiation in Japanese Patients with Asthma Previously on Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-Acting βJournal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR): 2017-2024 Status and Progress Update.Tuberculosis and respiratory diseases · 2025Article
- Review
- Disease burden of myasthenia gravis in relation to oral corticosteroid dose: an insurance claims database study in Japan.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Article
- Experiences of Oral Corticosteroid Use and Adverse Effects: A National Cross-Sectional Survey of People with Asthma.Patient preference and adherence · 2025Article
- Cumulative Dispensing of Oral Corticosteroids Over 12 Months in People with COPD.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 7 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionOral corticosteroids (OCS) for asthma are associated with increased risks of developing adverse outcomes (adverse outcomes); no previous study has focused exclusively on intermittent OCS use.
methodsThis historical (2008-2019) UK cohort study using primary care medical records from two anonymised, real-life databases (OPCRD and CPRD) included patients aged≥4 years with asthma receiving only intermittent OCS. Patients were indexed on their first recorded intermittent OCS prescription for asthma and categorised by OCS prescribing patterns: one-off (single), less frequent (≥90 day gap) and frequent (<90 day gap). Non-OCS patients matched 1:1 on gender, age and index date served as controls. The association of OCS prescribing patterns with OCS-related AO risk was studied, stratified by age, Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) 2020 treatment step, and pre index inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and short-acting β
findingsOf 476 167 eligible patients, 41.7%, 26.8% and 31.6% had one-off, less frequent and frequent intermittent OCS prescribing patterns, respectively. Risk of any AO increased with increasingly frequent patterns of intermittent OCS versus non-OCS (HR; 95% CI: one-off 1.19 (1.18 to 1.20), less frequent 1.35 (1.34 to 1.36), frequent 1.42 (1.42 to 1.43)), and was consistent across age, GINA treatment step and ICS and SABA subgroups. The highest risks of individual OCS-related adverse outcomes with increasingly frequent OCS were for pneumonia and sleep apnoea.
conclusionA considerable proportion of patients with asthma receiving intermittent OCS experienced a frequent prescribing pattern. Increasingly frequent OCS prescribing patterns were associated with higher risk of OCS-related adverse outcomes. Mitigation strategies are needed to minimise intermittent OCS prescription in primary care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.