Inhaled versus systemic corticosteroids for acute asthma in children. A systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the effects of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) against systemic corticosteroids (SC) in children consulting in emergency department (ED) or equivalent for asthma exacerbation.


METHODS
Electronic search in MEDLINE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and LILACS databases and other sources. Study selection criteria: children 2-18 years of age, consulting in ED or equivalent for asthma exacerbation, comparison between ICS and SC, randomized controlled trials.


METHODS
hospital admission rate, unscheduled visits for asthma symptoms, need of additional course of SC.


RESULTS
improvement of lung function, length of stay in ED, clinical scores, and adverse effects.


RESULTS
Eight studies met inclusion criteria (N = 797), published between 1995 and 2006. All used prednisolone as SC and budesonide, fluticasone, dexamethasone, and flunisolide were administered as ICS. No significant difference between ICS versus SC was found in terms of hospital admission (RR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.41-2.57), unscheduled visits for asthma symptoms (RR: 9.55; 95% CI: 0.53-170.52) nor for need of additional course of SC (RR: 1.45; 95% CI: 0.28-7.62). The change in % of predicted FEV1 at fourth hour was significantly higher for SC group, but there was no significant difference between both groups after this time. There was insufficient data to perform meta-analysis of length of stay during first consult in ED and of symptom scores. Vomiting was similar among both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
There is no evidence of a difference between ICS and SC in terms of hospital admission rates, unscheduled visits for asthma symptoms and need of additional course of SC in children consulting for asthma exacerbations.
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Andrea A
AA
Beckhaus
Maria C
MC
Riutort
Jose A
JA
Castro-Rodriguez
D000208:Acute Disease; D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D018450:Disease Progression; D004630:Emergencies; D006801:Humans
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones
acute asthma; asthma; children; exacerbation; inhaled corticosteroids; systemic corticosteroids