Effect of procaterol on arterial blood gas in asthmatic children.

We determined changes in arterial blood gas after the inhalation of procaterol, a highly beta 2-selective and long-acting adrenergic agonist, in 11 asthmatic children. Seven of the patients, with a maximum fall of 14 mmHg (63.6%), showed a decrease in PaO2 (mean +/- SD = -7.1 +/- 4.0 mmHg) and had poorer pulmonary function with a lower initial PaO2 than four subjects who had an increase in PaO2 after inhalation. There was a statistically significant correlation between values of the PaO2 before and after inhalation (P less than .05).