Clinical Experiences with the Use of Cromolyn Sodium in Asthmatic Children

An eight-week, double-blind placebo-con trolled crossover trial was conducted with 105 patients in a multicenter study, to determine the efficacy of cromolyn sodium in the preven tion and adjunctive management of bronchial asthma in children. Statistical analysis disclosed significant differences in favor of cromolyn, with the patients indicating decreased wheezing and related respiratory complaints, decreased frequency and severity of acute exacerbations, lessening in the need for adjunctive medica tions, decreased time lost from school or work, and ability on the part of both patient and physician to distinguish the active from placebo therapy.A second phase of the study involved a 19-to 33-month open trial conducted with 17 placebo-discriminating children in whom the double-blind investigation had indicated cromo lyn to be an effective agent in controlling their symptoms. All were chronically ill, consistently unresponsive to conventional therapeutic medi caments, and frequently in need of cortico ster...