Failure of once daily inhaled corticosteroid treatment to control chronic asthma.

Twelve patients with chronic asthma received either high dose beclomethasone once a day or standard doses of beclomethasone three times a day in a double blind crossover trial to determine whether inhalation once a day would be sufficient. With the once a day regimen peak expiratory flow rates fell significantly, symptoms of nocturnal asthma increased, and two patients withdrew from the study because of worsening asthma. Whether control can be achieved with steroids inhaled once a day by simply increasing the total daily dose remains to be seen.