PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Fabio Pereira Muchão
AU  - Juliana Miguita e Souza
AU  - Hélida Conceição Cavalcante Torres
AU  - Isabela Batista de Lalibera
AU  - Cláudio Schvartsman
AU  - Joaquim Carlos Rodrigues
AU  - Luiz Vicente Ribeiro Ferreira da Silva Filho
TI  - Metered-dose inhaler albuterol: Evaluation of efficacy and safety of increasing doses in children with acute wheezing
DP  - 2014 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P3527
VI  - 44
IP  - Suppl 58
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P3527.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P3527.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44
AB  - IntroductionIdeal doses of albuterol delivered by metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) for acute asthma in children are not yet well established.ObjectivesThis randomized double blind multicenter study compared two dosage regimens of albuterol (MDIs with spacers) for the treatment of moderate to severe asthma exacerbations in children.MethodsAlbuterol doses (administered at least 3 times in first hour) are in table 1.View this table:Albuterol dosagesAll patients received corticosteroids and ipratropium. Maximum length of stay in the study was 4 hours (time of discharge or admission).Outcomes assessed in both groups: hospitalization rates (HR), change, after 1 hour, in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV11H), decrease in PRAM (Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Measure) score after 1 hour (PRAM1H) and 4 hours (PRAM4H), differences in oximetry after 1 hour (SpO2-1H) and length of stay in the emergency room (LOS). Safety outcomes were hyperglycemia, hypokalemia, cardiac arrhythmias (CA) and tremor rates (TR). The chi-square test was used to compare HR and TR. For other outcomes, T test of comparison of means (variables with normal distribution) or Mann Whitney test (nonparametric data) were used, alpha=0.05.ResultsN=113 (2-15 years, median=5.89). There were no significant differences in HR (p=0.46), FEV11H (p=0.46), PRAM1H (p=0.35), PRAM4H (p=0.32), SpO2-1H (p=0.53), LOS (p=0.57), decrease of serum potassium (p=0.23), increase of glucose (p=0.08) or TR in both groups (p=0.32). No CA were detected.ConclusionsBoth dosage regimens showed similar efficacy and safety in this study.