Abstract
Magnesium sulfate has been shown to be an effective treatment in older children with asthma exacerbations, but it has not been investigated in acute severe virus-induced wheezing in young children.
The study enrolled 61 children aged 6 months to 4 years. Inclusion criteria were severe wheezing, classified as a score of ≥6 points as assessed by the Respiratory Distress Assessment Instrument (RDAI) after initial treatment with salbutamol, and the symptoms of acute viral infection. The children were randomly allocated to receive either an infusion of magnesium sulfate (40 mg·kg−1) or 0.9% sodium chloride as a placebo infusion for 20 min. Primary outcome measure was mean change in RDAI scores from baseline to 6 h after the treatment.
Change in the severity of wheezing from baseline to 6 h after the treatment, as measured by mean±sd RDAI scores, was 4.7±2.6 in the magnesium sulfate group and 4.2±4.2 in the placebo group (difference 0.5, 95% CI −1.3 to 2.3, p=0.594).
Intravenous magnesium sulfate was ineffective in treating acute severe virus-induced wheezing in young children, in contrast to the previous efficacy demonstrated in older children.
Abstract
Intravenous magnesium sulfate was ineffective in treating acute severe virus-induced wheezing in young children http://ow.ly/sfcF30hHc0e
Footnotes
This study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov with identifier number NCT01383655.
Support statement: Hannele Pruikkonen received a grant from the Alma and K.A. Snellman Foundation and a grant from the Finnish Medical Association (Duodecim Northern Ostrobothnia) to support the reporting phase of this study. Funding information for this article has been deposited with the Crossref Funder Registry.
Conflict of interest: Disclosures can be found alongside this article at erj.ersjournals.com
- Received August 3, 2017.
- Accepted November 19, 2017.
- Copyright ©ERS 2018