Fluorocarbon Propellants and Central Nervous System Stimulation in Asthma
1 Department of Pediatrics, National Jewish Hospital and Research Center, Denver, CO 80206, ROBERT LANIER, MD, 5929 Lovell, Ft Worth, Texas
To the Editor.
Pressurized aerosols used in the treatment of asthma contain a mixture of fluorocarbons as propellants. Although the possible cardiac toxicity of these substances in asthmatics has been discussed,1 little attention has been given to the stimulatory effects on the central nervous system. We have observed a patient who demonstrated behavior that, we feel, illustrates this point.
J.C. is a 12-year-old girl who has had asthma since infancy and who has required alternate-day corticosteroids for the past 3 years.




