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Prednisolone or Dexamethasone for Pediatric Asthma Exacerbations?

By Ken Milne, MD | on February 16, 2018 | 1 Comment
Skeptics' Guide to EM
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Resources for Further Reading

St. Emlyn’s: Why don’t we use dexamethasone for children’s asthma?

References

  1. Lucas-Bouwman ME, Roorda RJ, Jansman FG, et al. Crushed prednisolone tablets or oral solution for acute asthma? Arch Dis Child. 2001;84(4):347-348.
  2. Schimmer BP, Parker KL. Adrenocorticotropic hormone; adrenocortical steroids and their synthetic analogs; inhibitors of the synthesis and actions of adrenocortical hormones. In: Brunton LL, Lazo JS, Parker KL, eds. Goodman & Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. 11th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2007:1587-1612.
  3. Russell KF, Liang Y, O’Gorman K, et al. Glucocorticoids for croup. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;(1):CD001955.
  4. Keeney GE, Gray MP, Morrison AK, et al. Dexamethasone for acute asthma exacerbations in children: a meta-analysis. Pediatrics. 2014;133(3):493-499.

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Explore This Issue
ACEP Now: Vol 37 – No 02 – February 2018

Pages: 1 2 | Single Page

Topics: AsthmaDexamethasoneEmergency DepartmentEmergency MedicineEmergency PhysiciansEvidence-based MedicinePatient CarePediatricsPrednisolone

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About the Author

Ken Milne, MD

Ken Milne, MD, is chief of emergency medicine and chief of staff at South Huron Hospital, Ontario, Canada. He is on the Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine faculty and is creator of the knowledge translation project the Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

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One Response to “Prednisolone or Dexamethasone for Pediatric Asthma Exacerbations?”

  1. March 4, 2018

    Gary Reply

    The IV formation of dexamethasone, which is commonly used po, is slightly less absorbed from the gi tract, so I would lean towards giving the higher dose seen in other studies of 0.6mg/kg to a max of 16mg, which is also a protocol used at many US children’s hospitals.

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