A study shows that dexamethasone brought back the acute cases of asthma patients to normalcy earlier than prednisone.

     Team@CMHF

Dexamethasone has a longer half-life than prednisone and is well tolerated orally. We compare the time needed to return to normal activity and the frequency of relapse after acute exacerbation in adults receiving either 5 days of prednisone or 2 days of dexamethasone

More patients in the dexamethasone group reported a return to normal activities within 3 days compared with the prednisone group (90% versus 80%; difference 10%; 95% confidence interval 0% to 20%; P=.049). Relapse was similar between groups (13% versus 11%; difference 2%; 95% confidence interval -7% to 11%.

CONCLUSION: In acute exacerbations of asthma in adults, 2 days of oral dexamethasone is at least as effective as 5 days of oral prednisone in returning patients to their normal level of activity and preventing relapse.

Ref: http://www.docguide.com/two-days-dexamethasone-versus-5-days-prednisone-treatment-acute-asthma-randomized-controlled-trial?hash=80445d1a&eid=18580&alrhash=2efbb8-880279c42369cc2f8adcb48a6daaf3d2