Abstract
We administered budesonide inhalation suspension (BIS) to 20 asthmatic infants and young children using mesh nebulizer for the purpose of examining the efficacy and safety. Among these patients, 12 patients had received BIS 0.25mg once daily (maximum dosage period: 24 weeks), remaining 8 patients had received BIS 0.5mg once daily (maximum dosage period: 12 weeks). We also administered BIS to 18 asthmatic patients of the same age (all patients had received 0.5mg once daily) using conventional jet nebulizer (maximum dosage period: 36 weeks). We measured the number of asthma exacerbations per 4 weeks and plasma cortisol levels before and after administration of BIS in all groups. As a result, the number of asthma exacerbations per 4 weeks decreased significantly in all groups. In addition, no significant and sustained fall of the plasma cortisol level was seen in all groups over the observation period. In conclusion, BIS inhalation via mesh nebulizer and jet nebulizer seemed to have comparable level of efficacy and safety for infants and young children with bronchial asthma, but further investigation is necessary because there is little number of cases of the mesh nebulizer group.
