COMPARISON OF THE EFFECT OF SUBCUTANEOUS ADRENALINE AND TERBUTALINE IN INFANTS WITH ACUTE ASTHMA

Background. - Edema of the mucous membranes lining the airways is a ma jor factor of airway obstruction in asthma. Stimulation of both alpha and beta-adrenergic receptors is thus logically useful to reduce edema through vasoconstriction and to cause smooth muscle relaxation. The a im of this work was to compare the effects of subcutaneous epinephrine vs terbutaline far treating acute attack of asthma in infants. Patien ts and methods. - Fifty-four infants aged less than 30 months admitted for acute asthma attacks were included in this study. None had previo us cardiovascular or definite pulmonary disease and none had tachycard ia above 200/min. The patients were randomly given subcutaneous epinep hrine, 10 mu g/kg (n = 28) or subcutaneous terbutaline at the same dos age (n = 26). Results. - Improvement in accessory muscle use, oxygen s aturation, PaO2 and PCO2 was similar in both groups. The respiratory r ate war significantly improved after administration of epinephrine (P = 0.05). No adverse effects were seen in either drug. Conclusion. - Su bcutaneous administration of epinephrine is as effective as terbutalin e in treating acute attack of asthma in infants. This drug easy to use and of low-cost, could be the treatment of choice in developing count ries. (C) 1998, Elsevier, Paris.