Effect of combined dexamethasone therapy with nebulized r-epinephrine or salbutamol in infants with bronchiolitis: A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial

Bronchiolitis: Safely Doing Less Is the Next Big Thing

Bronchiolitis is a viral lower respiratory tract infection primarily affecting children younger than 2 years; a common cause of health care encounters, including hospitalization; and a considerable economic burden for health care systems in the United States and worldwide. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) most recently updated its bronchiolitis guideline in 2014 and reaffirmed supportive care as the mainstay of treatment. Despite these recommendations, there is still significant variability in care provided for these children, especially in bronchodilator usage, radiography, and high-flow nasal cannula. Since the 2014 AAP guideline, many pediatric hospitalists have undertaken quality initiatives to improve the adherence to published guidelines, yet a large gap remains between what is recommended and what is practiced. This article presents research on the efficacy of common interventions as well as an introduction to diagnostics and treatments potentially on the horizon. [Pediatr Ann. 2024;53(6):e223-e228.].

Efficacy of salbutamol in the treatment of infants with bronchiolitis: A meta-analysis of 13 studies

BACKGROUND

To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of salbutamol treatment in infants with bronchiolitis.

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the use of salbutamol in infants with bronchiolitis was performed. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool was used to evaluate the quality of RCTs. Data were extracted and meta-analyzed using STATA version 12.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX).

RESULTS

Thirteen RCTs, including a total of 977 participants, were assessed in the present meta-analysis. Results indicated that salbutamol therapy for bronchiolitis in infants led to an increase in respiratory rate (weighted mean difference [WMD] 2.26 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.36-4.16]) and higher heart rate (WMD 12.15 [95% CI 9.24-15.07]). However, as a selective β2-agonist, salbutamol did not improve the clinical severity score of infants with bronchiolitis (WMD -0.11 [95% CI -0.26 to 0.03]), length of hospital stay (WMD 0.12 [95% CI -0.32 to 0.56]), or oxygen saturation (WMD 0.20 [95% CI -0.35 to 0.75]).

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of this systematic review, the use of salbutamol had no effect on bronchiolitis in children <24 months of age. Moreover, the treatment can also lead to side effects, such as high heart rate. As such, salbutamol should not be recommended for treatment of bronchiolitis in infants.

Bronchiolitis: From Practice Guideline to Clinical Practice

The American Academy of Pediatrics' clinical practice guideline in bronchiolitis was last updated in 2014 with recommendations to improve care for pediatric patients with bronchiolitis. As most treatments of bronchiolitis are supportive, the guideline minimizes the breadth of treatments previously used and cautions the use of tests and therapies that have a limited evidence base. Emergency physicians must be familiar with the guidelines in order to apply best practices appropriately.

Network Meta-Analysis Comparing the Efficacy of Therapeutic Treatments for Bronchiolitis in Children

BACKGROUND

This study aims to compare placebo (PBO) and 7 therapeutic regimens-namely, bronchodilator agents (BAs), hypertonic saline (HS), BA ± HS, corticosteroids (CS), epinephrine (EP), EP ± CS, and EP ± HS-to determine the optimal bronchiolitis treatment.

METHODS

We plotted networks using the curative outcome of several studies and specified the relations among the experiments by using mean difference, standardized mean difference, and corresponding 95% credible interval. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was used to separately rank each therapy on clinical severity score (CSS) and length of hospital stay (LHS).

RESULTS

This network meta-analysis included 40 articles from 1995 to 2016 concerning the treatment of bronchiolitis in children. All 7 therapeutic regimens displayed no significant difference to PBO with regard to CSS in our study. Among the 7 therapies, BA performed better than CS. As for LHS, EP and EP ± HS had an advantage over PBO. Moreover, EP and EP ± HS were also more efficient than BA. The SUCRA results showed that EP ± CS is most effective, and EP ± HS is second most effective with regard to CSS. With regard to LHS, EP ± HS ranked first, EP ± CS ranked second, and EP ranked third.

CONCLUSIONS

We recommend EP ± CS and EP ± HS as the first choice for bronchiolitis treatment in children because of their outstanding performance with regard to CSS and LHS.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy and Safety of Combined Epinephrine and Corticosteroid Therapy for Acute Bronchiolitis in Infants

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of combined epinephrine and corticosteroid therapy for acute bronchiolitis in infants.

Methods: Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and CENTRAL) were searched from their inception to February 28, 2017 for studies involving infants aged less than 24 months with bronchiolitis which assessed the use of epinephrine and corticosteroid combination therapy. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias Tool. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool the effect estimates. The primary outcomes were hospital admission rate and length of hospital stay.

Results: Of 1,489 citations identified, 5 randomized controlled trials involving 1,157 patients were included. All studies were of high quality and low risk of bias. Results of the meta-analysis showed no significant differences in the primary outcomes. Hospitalization rate was reduced by combinatorial therapy of epinephrine and corticosteroid in only one out of five studies, whereas pooled data indicated no benefit over epinephrine plus placebo. Clinical severity scores were significantly improved in all five RCTs when assessed individually, but no benefit was observed compared to epinephrine monotherapy when the data were pooled together. Pooled data showed that combination therapy was more effective at improving oxygen saturation level (mean difference: −0.70; 95% confidence interval: −1.17 to −0.22, p = 0.004). There was no difference in the risk of serious adverse events in infants treated with the combined epinephrine and corticosteroid therapy.

Conclusions: Combination treatment of epinephrine and dexamethasone was ineffective in reducing hospital admission and length of stay among infants with bronchiolitis.