Short-term effects of budesonide, nedocromil sodium and salmeterol on bronchial hyperresponsiveness in childhood asthma

The effects of budesonide, nedocromil sodium and salmeterol on bronchial hyperresponsiveness were determined over a period of 3 weeks.Forty-three asymptomatic children (22 male, 21 female, aged 7-17 years) with mild-to-moderate asthma were evaluated. The study was placebo-controlled and double-blind. At the beginning the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) was measured and a methacholine challenge was performed to determine PC20 (provocative concentration of inhaled methacholine required to reduce FEV1 by 20%). The patients in group I (n = 12), group II (n = 10), group III (n = 11), and group IV (n = 10) inhaled 200 micrograms of budesonide, 2 mg of nedocromil sodium, 25 micrograms of salmeterol and a placebo, respectively, twice a day over the period of 3 weeks. Then the methacholine PC20 values of all patients were measured again and the results were compared statistically with their previous values.The statistical data revealed that the methacholine doses in PC20 before and after treatment were different in group I (P0.01). However, these differences were not statistically significant in the other groups (P0.05).The short term usage of budesonide decreases bronchial hyperresponsiveness, but nedocromil sodium and salmeterol in the given dises do not affect bronchial hyperresponsiveness.