Effectiveness and Cost Study Comparing Two Ways to Deliver Albuterol for the Treatment of Asthma in the Hospital

Studies looking at the use of beta-2-agonists given by MDIs with a spacer and mask in children greater than 2 years have described fewer side effects than when the same medications are given as nebulizers. Patients have less tachycardia, vomiting, and oxygen desaturation (Kerem et al. 1993, Chou, Cunningham and Crain 1995, Lin and Hsieh 1995, Pendergast et al. 1989, Fuglsang and Pedersen 1986).

In the emergency department setting, Rubilar et. al found that albuterol delivered by MDI with spacer and mask had equal efficacy to albuterol delivered by a nebulizer in treating acute wheezing in children less than 2 years of age. (Rubilar, Castro-Rodriguez and Girardi 2000) Chou et. al found that in children greater than 2 years old with acute asthma exacerbations, MDIs had the same efficacy as nebulizers but with a shorter delivery time and fewer side effects.(Chou et al. 1995)

All children who meet criteria to be participants in the study will be approached for possible study enrollment in the ED. No outside recruiting will be done. Once consent has been obtained and patients are enrolled, they will be randomized to either albuterol by MDI with placebo nebulizer treatments or albuterol by nebulizer with placebo MDI treatments. Subjects will be randomized to one of the two treatment arms in a 1:1 randomization process. This will be done using a prepared assignment log developed using a random number generator.

Children in the control arm will receive albuterol via nebulizer and placebo by MDI with spacer +/- mask. Children in the experimental arm will receive albuterol by MDI and placebo by nebulizer.

All MDI treatments will be given with a spacer +/- mask. Subjects will receive 6 puffs if they are < 30 kg and 10 puffs if they are > 30 kg. If they are in the control group, puffs will be placebo. If they are in the experimental group, puffs will be albuterol (90 micrograms per puff).

For the nebulizer treatments, patients in the control group will receive 2.5 mg albuterol (if <30 kg) or 5 mg of albuterol (if 30 kg or greater) in 3 ml of normal saline. Patients in the experimental group will receive nebulizer treatments as 3 ml of normal saline. Nebulized treatments will be delivered with room air unless the subjects are on oxygen.

All study medication will be administered by clinical nursing staff or respiratory therapists. The frequency at which albuterol is given will be determined by the subject's primary medical team. For all subjects, MDI treatments will be given first followed by nebulizer treatments.

Nursing staff will record a Clinical Asthma Score (CAS) (Parkin et. al 1996) on admission and every 4 hours during hospitalization up to 72 hours or discharge (whichever comes first). Nursing staff will also record the total number of albuterol treatments given and the time required to give each treatment. Patients' total length of stay will be calculated. A cost analysis will be done to determine if there are any differences in the costs to the hospital of the two delivery devices. This analysis will include the costs of the albuterol and delivery devices and the labor costs related to nursing or respiratory therapists' time to administer the medications. Information on subjects' baseline level of asthma severity will also be collected at the beginning of the study.

All study patients will be given prednisolone, prednisone or solumedrol at a dose of 1 mg/kg/dose twice a day for a total of 5 days. The length of steroid treatment can be extended beyond 5 days if felt to be clinically indicated by the subject's attending physician.

Controller medications such as long acting beta-2-agonists, inhaled corticosteroids, and leukotriene inhibitors will be given at the discretion of the subject's in patient attending. All controller medications used before and during hospitalization will be recorded as part of the study data.