Treatment of acute bronchoconstriction in children with use of a tube spacer aerosol and a dry powder inhaler.

In a double blind cross-over study 24 children suffering from acute bronchoconstriction were treated with either placebo, or terbutaline delivered by a pressurized aerosol with a tube spacer (TS), or salbutamol from a dry powder inhaler (Rotahaler = RO). Both active treatments resulted in a significant increase in FEV1 as compared with placebo (P less than 0.001). Furthermore, TS treatment resulted in significantly greater improvement in FEV1 than treatment with the RO (P less than 0.05). Under the conditions of marked airways obstruction problems with correct handling of the RO (loading and breaking the capsule) were prevalent and many children were unable to empty the RO capsule. These difficulties seemed to account for the smaller bronchodilation after RO treatment and were not seen under quiet circumstances. It is recommended that inhalation therapy in children is supervised by an adult during periods of marked airways disease.