Abstract
Theophylline serum concentrations (TSC) in ten asthmatic children during RTC therapy were closely examined in order to compare the values for periods with and without acute asthma attacks.
1) Average TSC during the periods without attacks (fluctuation from day to night) remained above 10μg/ml. on the contrary, during acute attacks, TSC decreased significantly (P<0.05) within two hours and nine to ten hours after an 8:00 a.m. dose. The tendency to decrease was also observed within one to six hours after an 8:00 p.m. dose. TSC in the above three cases was 5 to 9μg/ml.
2) Twenty moderately severe to severe attacks (71%) out of 28 in the ten asthmatic children who were brought to the hospital for emergency took place when TSC was at a minimum, a few hours before and after dosing.
It is concluded that if asthmatic children on RTC therapy who have a TSC level higher than 10μg/ml in the period without attacks, yet have frequent asthma attacks, TSC value should be examined again at the time of frequent attacks.
