Oral versus intravenous corticosteroids in children hospitalized with asthma☆,☆☆,★
Section snippets
Patients
Patients included in this study were children between 2 and 18 years of age with an acute asthma exacerbation treated in the emergency department (ED) of St Christopher’s Hospital for Children between November 1995 and March 1996.
Patients with the diagnosis of an acute exacerbation of reactive airways disease were initially evaluated by the ED staff who assessed their degree of illness and need for hospitalization. All study children were treated in the ED with frequent β-agonists delivered by
RESULTS
Seventy patients were initially enrolled in the study. Subsequently, 4 patients were removed from the study, 3 as a result of medication errors and one who required transfer to the intensive care unit for more aggressive management. Sixty-six patients completed the study, 33 in each group. There was no difference between the prednisone and methylprednisolone groups for patient gender, age, or time spent in the ED (Table II).Empty Cell Prednisone Empty Cell
DISCUSSION
These data show that equipotent daily doses of oral prednisone and intravenous methylprednisolone were equally efficacious in the treatment of pediatric patients hospitalized with acute asthma.
The 1997 National Institutes of Health guidelines15 recommend oral prednisone for hospitalized patients, even though there has not been a well-designed randomized controlled trial done to support this. In a 1993 review article, McFadden17 concluded that oral and intravenous corticosteroids were probably
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2016, Annals of Emergency MedicinePediatric Respiratory Emergencies
2016, Emergency Medicine Clinics of North AmericaAsthma in Older Children: Special Considerations
2016, Pediatric Allergy: Principles and Practice: Third EditionGEMA<sup>4.0.</sup> Guidelines for Asthma Management
2015, Archivos de Bronconeumologia
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Supported by grant #96-017-1SCHC from Allegheny-Singer Research Institute.
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Reprint requests: Jack M. Becker, MD, St Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Section of Allergy, Front at Erie St, Philadelphia, PA 19134.
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