What is "theophylline"?

What is "theophylline"?

William Berger (Allergist and Immunologist) gives expert video advice on: How is asthma treated?; How important is it to identify my asthma triggers?; What side effects should I expect from my asthma medication? and more...

Theophylline has been used for many years and is available in a serum form, in a tablet form, in a capsule form, even in intravenous working; it can go directly into the veins. It was used for many, many years but with the introduction of inhaled coriticosteroids which are much more effective drugs, theophylline use has fallen off considerably. In addition, theophyllline has what we call a very narrow therapeutic margin which basically means that you have to reach a certain level in the bloodstream for it to work, but if you go too high, you can have side effects such as nausea and vomiting and even seizures. So as a result, we tend to use theophylline very sparingly today, and it is very unusual with patients who are on inhaled corticosteroids that you have to add theophylline to their treatment.