Early administration of two intravenous bolus of aminophylline added to the standard treatment of children with acute asthma

SummaryObjectivesEvaluate the efficacy of adding two intravenous bolus of aminophylline to the standard treatment of acute asthma episode in children admitted to the pediatric emergency room (PER).MethodsBetween March 2001 and February 2002, 60 children (2–5 years old), admitted to the PER at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (Brazil), due to an episode of acute asthma, refractory to conventional therapy (an oral dose of steroids and at least three doses of inhaled albuterol, associated or not with oxygen) were enrolled in a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial. The randomization was performed in blocks of 10 patients, who received a “bronchodilator solution” (either saline or aminophylline), in two doses: on arrival at the PER and again 6h later. The intervention group received aminophylline 5mg/kg/dose diluted in normal saline (NS) solution up to a 20mL volume, while the placebo group received plain NS, both in an infusion rate of 1cc/min. The main outcomes were total length of hospital stay, length of supplemental oxygen use, number of bronchodilator nebulizations and/or aerosol inhalations performed and patient destination. The groups were compared using the Students t-test, Mann–Whitney test and Chi-Square test, accepting p