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Comparison of epinephrine to salbutamol in acute bronchiolitis
Mohammad-Reza Modaressi1, Asadola Asadian, Jamal Faghihinia
1Child Health Promotion Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran ; Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
Epinephrine may be more effective than salbutamol in treating acute viral bronchiolitis, reducing hospitalization duration and symptom severity. This finding offers a potential improvement for managing this common infant respiratory illness.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Pulmonology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Acute viral bronchiolitis is a common respiratory illness in infants.
- Effective treatment can reduce symptom severity, hospitalization duration, and healthcare costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of epinephrine versus salbutamol in treating acute viral bronchiolitis.
- To evaluate the impact on hospitalization duration and clinical symptom scores.
Main Methods:
- A randomized study involving 40 infants (1 month to 2 years) with acute bronchiolitis.
- Participants received either epinephrine or salbutamol via nebulization.
- Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Respiratory Distress Assessment Instrument (RDAI), hospitalization length, oxygen saturation, and vital signs.
Main Results:
- Epinephrine treatment resulted in a significantly shorter mean hospitalization duration (3.0 days) compared to salbutamol (3.3 days) (P=0.03).
- A significant difference was observed in the Respiratory Distress Assessment Instrument (RDAI) index between the groups (P=0.03).
- No significant differences were found in oxygen saturation (SpO2), pulse rate (PR), or respiratory rate (RR).
Conclusions:
- Epinephrine appears to be more effective than salbutamol in reducing hospitalization duration and improving symptom scores in infants with acute viral bronchiolitis.
- These findings suggest epinephrine as a potentially superior therapeutic option for managing acute viral bronchiolitis.
Objective:
An appropriate treatment of acute viral bronchiolitis can reduce the symptoms, hospitalization duration and exorbitant costs which is imposed on the families and insurance organizations. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of epinephrine in comparison with salbutamol in the treatment of the disease.
Methods:
Forty infants aged one month to 2 years with acute bronchiolitis in Amin and Al-Zahra hospitals, during 2008, were enrolled in this study. The participants were randomized in two treatment groups to receive epinephrine 0.1 ml/kg or salbutamol 0.15 mg/kg. Three doses of each medication were prescribed at intervals of 20 minutes and continued every 10 minutes after the third dose. The patients in both groups were monitored and rated by RDAI, number of the hospitalized days in the hospital, level of oxygen saturation and vital signs.
Findings:
Mean hospitalization duration was 3.3±1.1 and 3±0.9 in the patients receiving salbutamol and epinephrine, respectively (P=0.03). There was a significant difference in assessing RDAI index between the two groups (P=0.03). There were no differences in SPO2, PR, or RR variables in the studied intervals in both groups (P>0.05).
Conclusion:
Regarding the effect of epinephrine on reduction of hospitalization duration and the RDAI index in patients with acute bronchiolitis, it seems that using epinephrine instead of salbutamol could be more effective in the management of the disease.
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