[Duration of bronchodilator effect of inhaled Salmeterol (dry powder x metered dose inhaler) in children with acute asthma attack].
Patients during a mild to moderate acute attack of asthma (FEV1: 50 - 80% of predicted) were treated with Salmeterol MDI - 50mcg or Rotadisk - 50mcg or Salbutamol (MDI -200mcg). The children were followed by Spirometry, measuring FEV1 (basal) and after treatment: at 30 minutes, 60 minutes and thereafter every 60 minutes until 780 minutes, if the patients maintained the FEV1 above 80% of the predicted value and/or an increment of 20% in the VEF1 basal value. The Salmeterol group showed a significant bronchodilation at 60 minutes which was maintained in half of the patients up to 9 hours. This was not observed in the Salbutamol group: the peak bronchodilatation was observed at 30 minutes and the bronchodilation effect was observed in half of the patients up to 6 hours. There were no significant differences between both presentations of Salmeterol. This drug allowed a prolonged bronchodilator effect and is, according to the several consensus on management of asthma, an adequate option in the treatment of moderate to severe asthma.
Solé
D
D
Departamento de Pediatria, Escola Paulista de Medicina.
Rizzo
M C
MC
Porto
I M
IM
Gomez
I D
ID
Sano
F
F
Figueiredo
M A
MA
Naspitz
C K
CK