Young children with attacks of sporadic, recurring asthma who
were treated with the prescription drug montelukast by their
parents had fewer unscheduled trips to the doctor, missed less
days from school or childcare, and caused their parents to take
fewer days off work for their care. Results from this multi-
center, randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial
appear in the second issue for February 2007 of the American
Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by
the American Thoracic Society. Colin F. Robertson, M.D., of the
Department of Respiratory Medicine at Royal Children's Hospital
in Melbourne, Australia, and eight associates studied 202
children, ages 2 to 14, who were given either montelukast or
placebo by their parents when needed for one year. All of the
children had intermittent, doctor-diagnosed asthma. By the end
of the year-long study, the patients treated with montelukast
had 163 unscheduled health resource visits for their illness, as
compared with 228 in the pla