Metaproterenol in children with chronic asthma

Metaproterenol sulfate was given to 25 children with asthma in the form of a syrup in a continuous treatment course of 180 days. Dosage amounted to 10 to 20 mg metaproterenol four times daily, depending on the patient's age and weight. Double-blind crossover tests of pulmonary function were run against placebo at the beginning and after 3 and 6 mo of treatment. The peak expiratory flow rate responses to metaproterenol consistently exceeded the responses to placebo, the differences proving statistically significant at several intervals after administration. Adverse reactions were limited to instances of hyperactivity in one child and of mild tremors in another; laboratory values remained normal throughout the 6-mo period except for low normal fasting blood sugar values recorded in 2 patients at the end of the study. Pulse rate increases occurring after metaproterenol were not considered clinically important.