montelukast and Hallucinations

There is insufficient clarity regarding whether or not drugs used in asthma cause behavioral problems in children.. A total of 155 individuals, categorized into an asthma group (n = 95) and a control group (n = 60), were enrolled in the current prospective controlled study. The asthma group consisted of patients receiving treatment (inhaled corticosteroids [ICS] or montelukast) for at least 1 month. Check Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for ages 1.5-5 scores for the asthma and controls were compared. The asthma group was divided into two subgroups based on prophylactic therapy received, ICS and montelukast, and these groups' CBCL scores were also compared.. The asthma group consisted of 95 children (ICS subgroup 45, montelukast subgroup 50) and the healthy control group of 60 cases. The mean total CBCL score was higher in the asthma group than in the control group (42 vs 32, respectively, P = 0.001). Internalization and externalization scores were also higher in the asthma group compared to the control group (P = 0.004 and P = 0.005, respectively). No significant difference was determined in terms of CBCL scores between the ICS and montelukast groups (P = 0.3). Montelukast was discontinued in one asthmatic child due to hallucination.. This study determined a higher rate of behavioral problems in preschool children with asthma compared to healthy children. In contrast to other studies in the literature, we determined no difference in terms of total CBCL, and internalization and externalization scores of children with asthma who received ICS and montelukast. Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that montelukast may cause serious neuropsychiatric events such as hallucination.

Topics: Acetates; Administration, Inhalation; Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Anti-Asthmatic Agents; Asthma; Child, Preschool; Cyclopropanes; Drug Therapy, Combination; Hallucinations; Humans; Infant; Problem Behavior; Quinolines; Sulfides

Leukotriene receptor antagonists(montelukast) have been used for many years in the treatment of asthma both acute and chronic stages. They are accepted commonly as safe but mostly possible side effects are ignored. However, montelukast also could lead to important adverse reactions like hallucinations. In literature only 2 reports have been found about hallucinations with it. One is a study which reports 3 patients from 48 children and the other is a 29 year-old case report. In our case, psychiatric adverse reactions of montelukast,especially hallucinations are reported similarly. We are presenting a child who had visual hallucinations after starting to use montekulast and after stopping the medicine these complaints disappeared in 48 hours. Although it is a safe drug, it should not be forgotten that it has psychiatric side effects which may be missed easily especially in children.

Topics: Acetates; Adolescent; Adult; Asthma; Cyclopropanes; Hallucinations; Humans; Leukotriene Antagonists; Male; Quinolines; Sulfides