Arch Dis Child 1998;79:6-11 ( July )

A randomised, placebo controlled trial of inhaled salbutamol and beclomethasone for recurrent cough

Anne B Chang,^a Peter D Phelan,^b John B Carlin,^c Susan M Sawyer,^a Colin F Robertson^a

^a Department of Thoracic Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ^b Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, ^c Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Statistics, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia

Correspondence to: Dr A B Chang, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Mater Children's Hospital, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia.email: achang{at}mater.org.au

Accepted 16 March 1998

AIMSTo test the hypothesis that inhaled salbutamol or beclomethasone will reduce the frequency of cough in children with recurrent cough. A secondary aim was to determine if the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) can predict the response.
DESIGNRandomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial.
METHODSDuring a coughing phase, 43 children (age 6-17 years) with recurrent cough were randomised to receive inhaled salbutamol or placebo (phase I) for 5-7 days and then beclomethasone or placebo (phase II) for 4-5 weeks, and in a subgroup of children for 8-9 weeks. The children used an ambulatory cough meter, kept cough diaries, and performed the capsaicin cough sensitivity, hypertonic saline bronchoprovocation, and skin prick tests.
RESULTSSalbutamol or beclomethasone had no effect on cough frequency or score, irrespective of the presence of AHR.
CONCLUSIONSMost children with recurrent cough without other evidence of airway obstruction, do not have asthma and neither inhaled salbutamol nor beclomethasone is beneficial.

Keywords: randomised control trial; cough; airway hyperreactivity; steroids; bronchodilator

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© 1998 by Archives of Disease in Childhood
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