The effects of inhaled respiratory drugs on the risk of stroke: A nested case-control study.

Although there have been concerns that inhaled long-acting muscarinic antagonists increase the risk of stroke, controversies exist. We investigated whether respiratory drugs including long-acting muscarinic antagonists are associated with the risk of stroke. A nested case-control study using the nationwide insurance claims database of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (Seoul, Republic of Korea) was conducted. Overall, 16,354 stroke cases and 74,451 matched (up to 1:5) controls were identified from 809,684 subjects without acute major cardiovascular events in the past year between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011. To determine whether the use of inhaled respiratory drugs is associated with the risk of stroke, conditional logistic regression analysis adjusted by comorbidities, cardiovascular drugs and healthcare utilization was performed. After adjusting for covariates, there were no statistically significant effects of the inhaled drugs on stroke incidence, except for inhaled corticosteroids without a long-acting ß2-agonists, which was significantly associated with hemorrhagic stroke. Inhaled respiratory medications, including long-acting muscarinic antagonists, did not affect the risk of stroke in the inhaled respiratory drug users.

Use of asthma medication during pregnancy and risk of specific congenital anomalies: A European case-malformed control study.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women with asthma need to take medication during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify whether there is an increased risk of specific congenital anomalies after exposure to antiasthma medication in the first trimester of pregnancy. METHODS: We performed a population-based case-malformed control study testing signals identified in a literature review. Odds ratios (ORs) of exposure to the main groups of asthma medication were calculated for each of the 10 signal anomalies compared with registrations with nonchromosomal, nonsignal anomalies as control registrations. In addition, exploratory analyses were done for each nonsignal anomaly. The data set included 76,249 registrations of congenital anomalies from 13 EUROmediCAT registries. RESULTS: Cleft palate (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.05-2.52) and gastroschisis (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.12-3.20) had significantly increased odds of exposure to first-trimester use of inhaled ß2-agonists compared with nonchromosomal control registrations. Odds of exposure to salbutamol were similar. Nonsignificant ORs of exposure to inhaled ß2-agonists were found for spina bifida, cleft lip, anal atresia, severe congenital heart defects in general, or tetralogy of Fallot. None of the 4 literature signals of exposure to inhaled steroids were confirmed (cleft palate, cleft lip, anal atresia, and hypospadias). Exploratory analyses found an association between renal dysplasia and exposure to the combination of long-acting ß2-agonists and inhaled corticosteroids (OR, 3.95; 95% CI, 1.99-7.85). CONCLUSIONS: The study confirmed increased odds of first-trimester exposure to inhaled ß2-agonists for cleft palate and gastroschisis and found a potential new signal for renal dysplasia associated with combined long-acting ß2-agonists and inhaled corticosteroids. Use of inhaled corticosteroids during the first trimester of pregnancy seems to be safe in relation to the risk for a range of specific major congenital anomalies.