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A randomised, placebo controlled trial of inhaled salbutamol and beclomethasone for recurrent cough
A B Chang1, P D Phelan, J B Carlin
1Department of Thoracic Medicine, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. achang@mater.org.au
Aims:
To test the hypothesis that inhaled salbutamol or beclomethasone will reduce the frequency of cough in children with recurrent cough. A secondary aim was to determine if the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) can predict the response.
Design:
Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial.
Methods:
During a coughing phase, 43 children (age 6-17 years) with recurrent cough were randomised to receive inhaled salbutamol or placebo (phase I) for 5-7 days and then beclomethasone or placebo (phase II) for 4-5 weeks, and in a subgroup of children for 8-9 weeks. The children used an ambulatory cough meter, kept cough diaries, and performed the capsaicin cough sensitivity, hypertonic saline bronchoprovocation, and skin prick tests.
Results:
Salbutamol or beclomethasone had no effect on cough frequency or score, irrespective of the presence of AHR.
Conclusions:
Most children with recurrent cough without other evidence of airway obstruction, do not have asthma and neither inhaled salbutamol nor beclomethasone is beneficial.