title: Salbutamol and/or beclomethasone diproprionate in asthma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Acute severe exacerbation of asthma is potentially life threatening and requires critical assessment and appropriate therapy. Now a days, steroids are often combined with bronchodilators for the treatment of bronchial asthma. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to compare effectiveness of beclomethasone diproprionate-salbutamol combination versus salbutamol alone by MDI (with or without spacer) in acute asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 57 paediatric patients (5-12 years) with acute attack of bronchial asthma attending emergency department of Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital was randomised to receive salbutamol (100 microg/puff) alone or with BDP (50 microg/puff) by metered dose inhaler with or without spacer. All baseline investigations were repeated one hour after the therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical parameters indicative of severity of asthma improved statistically in all treatment groups. The increase in PEFR was better with MDI-S+B with spacer as compared to other groups, though it failed to reach statistical significance. The fall in serum potassium level is significantly more with MDI-S+B group when spacer was not used. No serious adverse effects were observed in any of the treatment groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Metered dose inhalation of BDP-salbutamol combination with spacer provides better recovery whereas fall in serum potassium with MDI-S+B suggests use of spacer and monitoring of serum potassium during treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Indira Gandhi Medical College, Nagpur, India. drsmsin@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Sunita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Godatwar
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000420:Albuterol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001507:Beclomethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D036501:Metered Dose Inhalers; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D001507:Beclomethasone; D000420:Albuterol