Effective bronchodilator treatment by a simple spacer device for wheezy premature infants.
Ten preterm infants with recurrent respiratory symptoms (median gestational age 30 weeks) were entered into a non-randomised placebo controlled trial of bronchodilator treatment at 12.5 months of age. The infants had coughed or wheezed, or both, on at least four days a week for the past month. The infants received either placebo or 500 micrograms terbutaline from an inhaler using a coffee cup as a spacer device. Each treatment was maintained for two weeks, first placebo then active drug. The symptom score was reduced by 65% during the active treatment period compared with the placebo period and this was associated with a 32% improvement in lung function, reflected in an increase in functional residual capacity. We conclude that inhaled bronchodilator treatment given with a simple spacer device is useful for preterm infants with recurrent respiratory symptoms in the first two years of life.
Yuksel
B
B
Department of Child Health, King's College Hospital, London.
Greenough
A
A
Maconochie
I
I
D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005652:Functional Residual Capacity; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009330:Nebulizers and Vaporizers; D012008:Recurrence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013726:Terbutaline / Q000008:administration & dosage
D001993:Bronchodilator Agents; D013726:Terbutaline