Serevent is dangerous.

  Asthma patients are asking about the safety of Serevent. Recently, there have been a lot of news reports about some prescription drugs that may be dangerous. These reports started when Congress held a hearing about Vioxx after it was taken off the market. An FDA staff member raised concerns about the safety of some other drugs and Serevent was on the list.

  Serevent received a black box warning label in 2003 because of rare, but significant risk of asthma-related deaths shown in the Salmeterol Multi-center Asthma Research Trial (SMART). But the majority of the patients in the trial were not using an inhaled corticosteroid.

  Life-threatening asthma exacerbation can be reduced by use of an inhaled corticosteroid, as recommended in the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guidelines. Patients should also receive a short-acting bronchodilator for "as needed" bronchospasm use.