Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 22, inquire the standard practice of giving steroids to children who develop asthma symptoms when suffering from respiratory tract infections. In one study, researchers at Sainte Justine Hospital in Montreal followed 129 wheezing children with colds and reported that among the children who were given Flovent (fluticasone), an inhaled steroid, 8% ended being hospitalized compared with 18% of the children who inhaled a placebo treatment. In addition, the group using steroids gained a little bit less height and weight than those who took placebos.

In a second study, researchers at the London School of Medicine and Dentistry monitored 700 children, who were hospitalized with wheezing caused by viruses, of which 350 children were given oral steroids and the other group a placebo for five days. No statistically significant differences between the two groups were found.