Summary
Dexamethasone has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Asthma would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Asthma. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Dexamethasone to Asthma: 1 is currently recruiting; 1 is active or not yet recruiting; 4 have completed; 2 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 4 (NCT07228052). The largest enrolment is 5000 participants (NCT04278404). Registration activity spans 2008 to 2026. The literature layer holds 13 publications for this pair: 5 Cochrane reviews, 2 meta-analyses, 1 randomised controlled trial publication and 5 clinical trial publications. Publication years run from 2016 to 2025. Because at least one synthesis-level source exists (systematic review, meta-analysis or Cochrane review), this pair has been assessed beyond single studies, although the synthesis may concern a different indication.
The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Asthma ranks 642 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: 26% of childhood-onset asthma in clinical remission by adulthood; <20% adult-onset achieves sustained remission; 65% long-term remission in mild-moderate vs 16% in severe.
Evidence table
| Evidence tier | A · Strong |
|---|---|
| Evidence score | 76.5 (trials 26.5, literature 30.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0) |
| Registered trials | 8 total: 1 recruiting, 1 active / not yet recruiting, 4 completed, 2 other |
| Linked publications | 13 (5 Cochrane reviews, 5 clinical trial publications, 2 meta-analyses, 1 randomised controlled trial publication) |
| Agent type | Drug (Small molecule) |
| Development stage (any indication) | Approved |
| Mechanism / class | Not recorded |
| Data sources | Open Targets, ChEMBL |
How the evidence score is calculated
- Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
- Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
- The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
- Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
- The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.
Registered clinical trials
| NCT ID | Title | Status | Phase | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT01326494 | Reducing the Acute Care Burden of Childhood Asthma on Health Services in British Columbia 2011 | completed | Phase 4 | 92 |
| NCT03900624 | Ideal Steroids for Asthma Treatment in the PICU 2019 | completed | Phase 4 | 92 |
| NCT07228052 | Giving Asthmatics Intramuscular Steroids for Preventing Return to the Emergency Department 2026 | not yet recruiting | Phase 4 | 182 |
| NCT02725008 | Trial of One Versus Two Doses of Dexamethasone for Pediatric Asthma Exacerbation 2015 | completed | Phase 3 | 99 |
| NCT03133897 | Dexamethasone Versus Prednisone for Asthma Treatment in the Pediatric Inpatient Population; a Feasibility Study 2018 | terminated | Phase 3 | 20 |
| NCT00942201 | Comparison of Oral Dexamethasone Doses in Asthma Exacerbation 2008 | completed | Not applicable | 125 |
| NCT04278404 | Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Safety Profile of Understudied Drugs Administered to Children Per Standard of Care (POPS) 2020 | recruiting | Not applicable | 5,000 |
| NCT05850143 | EFFECTIVENESS OF SINGLE DOSE ORAL DEXAMETHASONE VERSUS MULTIDOSE PREDNISOLONE FOR TREATMENT OF ACUTE EXACERBATIONS OF ASTHMA AMONG CHILDREN ATTENDING THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN HOSPITAL, ISLAMABAD 2019 | status unknown | Not applicable | 192 |
Published literature
- Clinical trial publication Circulating miRNAs and childhood asthma ICS response: a stratified analysis in the intervention arm of an RCT with vitamin D effect modificationJiang M, Zhang Y, Liu T et al. · Thorax · 2025 · PMID 40467329
- Cochrane review The efficacy of dexamethasone compared to prednisone/prednisolone for the management of pediatric patients with acute exacerbation of asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysisWang H, Wang J, He X · The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma · 2025 · PMID 40577515
- Meta-analysis Oral systemic corticosteroids in children with acute asthma exacerbations: a systematic review and network meta-analysisAmagasa S, Utsumi S, Okajima K et al. · Archives of disease in childhood · 2025 · PMID 40484453
- Clinical trial publication Dexamethasone versus methylprednisolone for critical asthma: A single center, open-label, parallel-group clinical trialRoddy MR, Sellers AR, Darville KK et al. · Pediatric pulmonology · 2023 · PMID 36929864
- Clinical trial publication A Randomized Controlled Study Addressing Dexamethasone Tolerability in the Treatment of Acute Asthma in Children: Mary Poppins on Trial!Sonnenberg LK, Sinclair D · Journal of pharmacy practice · 2023 · PMID 35341362
- Cochrane review Dexamethasone versus prednisone/prednisolone in the management of pediatric patients with acute asthmatic exacerbations: a systematic review and meta-analysisDahan E, El Ghazal N, Nakanishi H et al. · The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma · 2023 · PMID 36461938
- Clinical trial publication Single-Dose Dexamethasone Is Not Inferior to 2 Doses in Mild to Moderate Pediatric Asthma Exacerbations in the Emergency DepartmentMartin M, Penque M, Wrotniak BH et al. · Pediatric emergency care · 2022 · PMID 35507383
- Randomized controlled trial Methylprednisolone, dexamethasone or hydrocortisone for acute severe pediatric asthma: does it matter?Doymaz S, Ahmed YE, Francois D et al. · The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma · 2022 · PMID 33380248
- Clinical trial publication Dexamethasone-Induced FKBP51 Expression in CD4(+) T-Lymphocytes Is Uniquely Associated With Worse Asthma Control in Obese Children With AsthmaTejwani V, McCormack A, Suresh K et al. · Frontiers in immunology · 2021 · PMID 34721414
- Meta-analysis Dexamethasone Versus Prednisone or Prednisolone for Acute Pediatric Asthma Exacerbations in the Emergency Department: A Meta-AnalysisCai KJ, Su SQ, Wang YG et al. · Pediatric emergency care · 2021 · PMID 32149991
- Cochrane review Safety of corticosteroids in young children with acute respiratory conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysisFernandes RM, Wingert A, Vandermeer B et al. · BMJ open · 2019 · PMID 31375615
- Cochrane review Intramuscular versus oral corticosteroids to reduce relapses following discharge from the emergency department for acute asthmaKirkland SW, Cross E, Campbell S et al. · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018 · PMID 29859017
- Cochrane review Different oral corticosteroid regimens for acute asthmaNormansell R, Kew KM, Mansour G · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016 · PMID 27176676
Mechanism and notes
No mechanism of action is recorded for this pair in the source databases.
OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in Open Targets and ChEMBL. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dexamethasone approved for Asthma?
Dexamethasone has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Asthma would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Asthma. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.
Is Dexamethasone in clinical trials for Asthma?
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Dexamethasone to Asthma: 1 is currently recruiting; 1 is active or not yet recruiting; 4 have completed; 2 are terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 4 (NCT07228052). The largest enrolment is 5000 participants (NCT04278404). Registration activity spans 2008 to 2026.
What does the evidence show for Dexamethasone in Asthma?
Dexamethasone has both completed registered trials and synthesis-level publications linked to Asthma. That is the strongest profile in this database, but the summaries here do not extract effect sizes, so read the linked reviews for direction and magnitude of benefit. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in Open Targets and ChEMBL. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Cite this page
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.