JAMA

PAS 2025: How did Flovent’s withdrawal impact pediatric asthma care?

April 29, 2025

The withdrawal of brand-name Flovent was linked to increased discontinuation of inhaled steroid therapy among children who’d used the drug. This finding, presented at Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, underscore the need for proactive measures to ensure continuous access to essential medications and minimize therapy interruptions.

Study details: In this difference-in-differences analysis, researchers examined prescription records from 2021-2024 in the comprehensive IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database, which covers 92% of U.S. pharmacies. They compared dispensing rates before and after Flovent's discontinuation in January 2024. The treatment group included 1,980,963 person-years of data from 1,411,184 children, of whom 58% were male. The control group included 1,237,802 person-years of data from 969,268 children, of whom 59% were male.

Results: Among children who received Flovent in late 2023, 41% didn’t have an inhaled steroid dispensed in the following nine months, compared with 35% in previous years. In contrast, the discontinuation rate for children using other inhaled steroids remained stable at around 38%. The increase in discontinuation was more pronounced in children under 6 years and those insured by Medicaid.

Source:

Chua KP, et al. (2025, April 26). JAMA. Changes in Inhaled Steroid Dispensing to Children After Withdrawal of Brand-Name Fluticasone Propionate. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40287146/