Abstract

Oral theophyllines have long been used to treat airway narrowing in patients with asthma and chronic bronchitis.¹ Their popularity waned when effective local treatment became available with inhaled β₂ stimulants, and later with the anticholinergic drug ipratropium bromide. They are now being used more widely again since the advent of sustained-release (s/r) preparations, several of them strongly promoted. When are they worth using?