[Contribution of salmeterol in ambulatory practice to the improvement of asthma and quality of life in childhood].

International guidelines on asthma recommend to add inhaled long-acting b2-agonists in patients insufficiently controlled with an inhaled corticosteroid alone. A multicentre prospective study was carried out in 250 children (age 8.4 +/- 2.7 years) whose asthma remained symptomatic with impaired lung function despite a treatment with 400-1000 micrograms/day of beclomethasone or equivalent. Salmeterol 100 micrograms/day was added to the previous dose of inhaled corticosteroid for 2 months. PEFR was improved as soon as the first month of treatment (67.2 +/- 44.4 L/min, p < 0.001) and at month 2 (75.0 +/- 44.1 L/min, p < 0.001). The percentage of symptomatic patients, the number of days and nights with symptoms, the number of days with prn bronchodilator use were significantly reduced (p < 0.001). The decrease in the distress and severity scores of the Childhood Asthma Questionnaire indicated an improvement in quality of life due to better asthma control. This study showed that lung function and symptoms were significantly improved as soon as the first month of treatment, improvement maintained thereafter, with a better quality of life and a good tolerability.