A dose-response study on fenoterol (Berotec) solution by inhalation in asthmatic children

Fenoterol (Berotec) was administered by inhalation, using a Bennett nebulizer, to symptom-free asthmatic children aged 6-13 years. It was demonstrated in a double-blind, crossover trial in 6 children that the improvement in the forced expiratory volume produced by inhalation of a nebulised fenoterol solution was not a placebo effect. Fenoterol (0.1 mg) produced effective bronchodilatation but there was a significant logarithmic dose-response relationship over the dose range tested (0.1-0.8 mg cumulative). There was no effect of the drug on heart rate even with the 0.8 mg dose.