The efficacy of inhaled beclomethasone in chronic obstructive airway disease.

The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of inhaled beclomethasone in the treatment of stable chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD). Eight patients completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of inhaled beclomethasone and oral prednisone. Each patient received 3 treatment regimens given for 14 days: inhaled beclomethasone, prednisone, and placebo. There were no statistically significant differences in pulmonary function tests, oxygen cost diagram, or 12-minute walking distance test among the regimens. The only improvement in arterial blood gasses was partial pressure of oxygen, which was negligibly increased during prednisone treatment compared with beclomethasone and with placebo (p less than 0.05). Evaluation of 95% confidence intervals indicated that clinically significant mean differences were unlikely with either beclomethasone or prednisone. Larger studies are required to determine if a responsive subgroup exists, and to determine if this form of therapy has a role in treatment of COAD.