A new study published in the ERJ has found that asthmatic children treated with montelukast are more likely to experience neuropsychiatric adverse drug reactions (ADRs) leading to drug cessation than asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs).
Montelukast is a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) used for the maintenance treatment of asthma and to relieve symptoms of seasonal allergies.
Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the frequency and risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events in children prescribed montelukast, as compared to ICSs, in the real-world setting of a paediatric asthma clinic.
The data showed that children initiating montelukast, compared to children initiating ICS, were estimated to be 12 times as likely to experience a neuropsychiatric ADR. The most frequently reported ADRs included irritability, aggressiveness and sleep disturbances.
The incidence of drug cessation due to neuropsychiatric ADRs associated with the initiation of montelukast was 16% and primarily occurred within two weeks.
The authors note that although the observation may be significant, there is a wide confidence interval with this finding.
Pierre Ernst and Geneviève Ernst discuss the new research in an accompanying editorial, ‘Neuropsychiatric adverse effects of montelukast in children’, also published in the ERJ.