Leukotriene antagonists and Churg-Strauss syndrome: the smoking gun

The linkage between Churg-Strauss syndrome and leukotriene receptor antagonists: fact or fiction?

Epidemiologic evidence has shown that the worldwide prevalence of asthma is increasing. The leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) represent a new class of therapy for asthma. They have been developed in the last decade and play a pivotal steroid-sparing role in treating the inflammatory component of asthma. Consequently, reports of Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS), a rare form of systemic vascul...

Churg-Strauss syndrome and leukotriene antagonist use: a respiratory perspective.

BACKGROUND Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a rare granulomatous small vessel vasculitis that occurs against a background of longstanding asthma. Leukotriene antagonists (LTAs) are used in the management of asthma and may facilitate a reduction in steroid dosage. Reports of the development of CSS in patients with asthma following the initiation of LTA therapy suggest either a causal association ...

The Churg Strauss Syndrome

During the first half of this century, several authors reported a variant of a small vessel vasculitis that appeared similar to the then recognized polyarteritis nodosa. The condition was distinguished by a significant atopic component, in the form of allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and hypereosinophilia (1). Such patients frequently had a poor prognosis, with many patients dying as a resu...

Churg-Strauss syndrome.

Churg-strauss syndrome.

First described in 1951 as an allergic and granulomatous angiitis, Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) is a small-vessel vasculitis. Mean age at the time of diagnosis is approximately 50 years, with a sex ratio around 1. Asthma is the central feature of CSS and precedes the systemic manifestations in almost all cases, whereas 70% of the patients have maxillary sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and/or sinu...