Childhood Asthma - Part 2

Of the 48 patients, 24 received terbutaline, and 24 received epinephrine. The average age of the group receiving terbutaline was nine years (range, 4 to 16 years) and of those receiving epinephrine was seven years (range, 2 to 13 years). Appreciable clinical improvement was noted in 19 of 24 patients in both groups and was of comparable magnitude. All of the patients were grouped into four subgroups, those receiving one injection of terbutaline or of

AIthough there have been a few studies on the effect of terbutaline in children, none has compared the effect of terbutaline with the effect of epinephrine during the acute asthmatic attack . In a parallel study, we have demonstrated the efficacy of terbutaline in the treatment of status asthmaticus in children. Because those patients by definition were unresponsive to treatment with epinephrine, ethical and practical considerations precluded us from comparing the effects of terbutaline with epinephrine in that