COMPARISON OF EFFICACY OF SALBUTAMOL AND SODIUM CROMOGLYCATE IN THE PREVENTION OF TICARCILLIN-INDUCED BRONCHOCONSTRICTION

Nebulized ticarcillin can cause bronchoconstriction in children with c ystic fibrosis (CF). We assessed whether pretreatment with salbutamol or sodium cromoglycate (SCG) would prevent this side-effect using a ra ndomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Fifteen children wi th CF received pretreatments of saline, SCG, or salbutamol, in random order, one on each day. Baseline lung function was measured before and after pretreatment, and after ticarcillin nebulization. On the contro l day (saline pretreatment), ticarcillin caused a reduction in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), which was maximal 10 minutes a fter receiving the aerosol and persisted for 120 minutes. The mean max imal fall in FEV1 was 9%. Pretreatment with salbutamol abolished the f all in FEV1 seen with ticarcillin at all time points. Pretreatment wit h SCG diminished the maximal fall in FEV1 at 10 minutes (mean, 4%) and resulted in the FEV1 returning to baseline within 120 minutes. These data suggest that pretreatment with salbutamol is more effective in pr eventing ticarcillin-induced bronchoconstriction in the doses used in routine clinical practice, than it is with SCG. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, I nc.