The role of bronchodilators in the management of bronchiolitis : a clinical trial

SummaryA randomized clinical trial was conducted on young children with bronchiolitis admitted to hospital with moderate illness to determine the efficacy of the bronchodilators Salbutamol and ipratropium bromide, either as a single drug or in combination, given as a nebulized solution, compared with a normal saline placebo. Eighty-nine patients, aged from 23 days to 11 months, were randomized into four groups, depending on administered drug or placebo, as follows: group 1—Salbutamol (n = 20); group 2—ipratropium bromide (n = 23); group 3—combined Salbutamol and Ipratropium bromide (n = 24); group 4—normal saline (n = 22). The groups were identical with respect to age, sex, family history of atopy, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) positivity and enrolment score. They were scored using the clinical parameters of wheezing, retractions and respiratory rate at enrolment, at 30 and 60 minutes after the first nebulization, and after 60 minutes following completion of subsequent nebulization at 6, 12, 24 and 36...