RESUMO
Findings have highlighted the need to improve asthma management in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Guidelines for the Management and Treatment of Asthma were developed at a meeting in Trinidad in July 1997, organised by the Commonwealth Caribbean Medical Research Council (CCMRC) and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). The guidelines recommend that the best way to control asthma is the use of anti-inflammatory agents, particularly inhaled corticosteroid, since these are currently the most effective long-term control medication. Haahtela et al in their seminal study demonstrated that controlling airway inflammation with inhaled corticosteroids is beneficial in asthma. Compared with trebutaline, regular treatment with the inhaled corticosteroid, budesonide, resulted in improved control of lung function, fewer symptoms and fewer asthmatic exacerbations (AU)
