Parent initiated prednisolone for acute asthma in children of school age: Randomised controlled crossover trial

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a short course of parent initiated oral prednisolone for acute asthma in children of school age. Design: Double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, crossover trial in which episodes of asthma, rather than participants, were randomised to treatment. Setting: The Barwon region of Victoria, Australia. Participants: Children aged 5-12 years with a history of recurrent episodes of acute asthma. Intervention: A short course of parent initiated treatment with prednisolone (1 mg/kg a day) or placebo. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome measure was the mean daytime symptom score over seven days. Secondary outcome measures were mean night time symptom s..