The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Apr 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialThe safety and efficacy of nebulized levalbuterol compared with racemic albuterol and placebo in the treatment of asthma in pediatric patients.
Limited dose-response information is available for nebulized beta2 -agonists, especially in young children. ⋯ Levalbuterol caused a significantly greater increase in FEV1 than placebo, and FEV1 values were comparable with or better than those observed with racemic albuterol. beta-Mediated side effects were lower for an equipotent dose of levalbuterol when compared with racemic albuterol. Treatment with levalbuterol resulted in plasma levels that were dose dependent and had an approximate correlation with pharmacodynamic parameters.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Apr 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialOral versus intravenous corticosteroids in children hospitalized with asthma.
Previous studies have demonstrated that in the emergency treatment of an asthma exacerbation, corticosteroids used in conjunction with beta-agonists result in lower hospitalization rates for children and adults. Furthermore, orally administered corticosteroids have been found to be effective in the treatment of outpatients with asthma. However, similar data in inpatients is lacking. ⋯ There was no difference in length of hospital stay between asthmatic patients receiving oral prednisone and those receiving intravenous methylprednisolone. Because hospitalization charges are approximately 10 times greater for intravenous methylprednisolone compared with oral prednisone, the use of oral prednisone to treat inpatients with acute asthma would result in substantial savings.