Changes in Bronchial Reactivity in Asthmatic Children After Treatment with Beclomethasone Alone or in Association with Salbutamol

Abstract

Airway inflammation is consistently present in patients with severe asthma. The combination of inhaled steroids and bronchodilators may be useful both for treating symptoms and improving the underlying inflammatory condition. We have compared the effect of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) combined with salbutamol (S), BDP alone, and placebo, on the severity of bronchial responsiveness in 30 children with allergic asthma during the period of specific allergen exposure. In children treated with BDP alone, PC20-FEV, methacholine was 0.66 ± 0.54 at the beginning and 1.91 ±2.11 at the end of the study period (p>0.05). In children treated with BDP+S PC20, methacholine was 1.21 ± 1.43 at the beginning and 4.22 ± 3.88 at the end of the study (p<0.05). The group of children treated with placebo had a PC20-FEV methacholine of 0.79 ± 0.61 at the beginning of the study and 0.80 ± 0.46