Abstract
Introduction
Corticosteroids are important part of acute severe asthma (ASA) management in pediatric intensive care units. Few studies look at the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in critical care settings. We aimed to investigate the potential beneficial effects of ICS when added to intravenous corticosteroids in pediatric patients with ASA admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)
Methods
This was a randomized controlled trial involving pediatric patients aged 1–21 years admitted to PICU with ASA. Patients were randomized into 2 groups using block randomization. Patients in Group A received intravenous methylprednisolone (2 mg/kg/day) alone and patients in Group B received intravenous methylprednisolone (2 mg/kg/day) plus budesonide nebulization (0.5 mg every 12 h). Main outcomes were duration of continuous albuterol treatment, PICU and hospital length of stay (LOS), and need and duration of respiratory support. Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis, in which a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Duration of continuous albuterol treatment was not different between the 2 groups median/(QR), 30/(18–51) vs. 25/(14–49). (p = 0.38) PICU and hospital LOS between the 2 groups was similar, median/(QR), 44/(30–64) vs. 46/(30–62), (p = 0.75) and 78/(65–95) vs.72/(58–92), (p = 0.19). Number of patients requiring respiratory support was 22(58%) in Group A and 25(64%) in Group B (p = 0.19).
Conclusions
In critically ill children with ASA, intravenous methylprednisolone combined with inhaled budesonide did not shorten the duration of continuous albuterol inhalation treatment, the PICU and hospital LOS, and the need for respiratory support.
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Declaration of interest
Authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Funding
Authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.
We received no funding for our research study.