ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Pediatrics 2021 June;73(3):215-21

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5276.20.06003-X

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Salbutamol combined with budesonide in treatment of pediatric bronchial asthma and its effect on eosinophils

Suihua LI ¹, Qinghua MEI ¹ ✉, Dan QIAN ², Xianghong HUANG ², Cuimiao FAN ¹, Jia QUAN ¹

¹ Department of Pharmacy, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China; ² Department of Pharmacy, Children’s Hospital of Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, China

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate and discuss the salbutamol combined with budesonide in treatment of pediatric bronchial asthma (BA) and its effect on eosinophils (EOS).
METHODS: Ninety-eight BA children admitted and treated in our hospital from July 2016 to June 2017 were collected and divided into control group (N.=49) and observation group (N.=49) according to random number table. The children in control group were treated with budesonide and those in observation group were treated with salbutamol combined with budesonide. The clinical efficacy, pulmonary functions and levels of T-lymphocyte subsets (including cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3)+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD4+/CD8+) in the immune system between two groups were compared after the treatment; the levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and eotaxin in the children were compared before the treatment and at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after the treatment; the changes in EOS counts in blood and induced sputum of the children before and after the treatment were compared, and the EOS apoptosis rate was compared at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after the treatment.
RESULTS: The effective rate of treatment in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05). After the treatment, the indexes of pulmonary function in observation group were obviously better than those in control group (P<0.05). Compared with those in control group, the levels of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ of the children in observation group were elevated remarkably, while the CD8+ level was lowered (P<0.05). The levels of ECP and eotaxin in the two groups were decreased after the treatment compared with those before the treatment, and the levels in observation group were superior to those in control group (P<0.05). After the treatment, the EOS counts of both groups of children were lower than those before the treatment, and the decrease in observation group was more notable than that in control group. At 1, 4 and 8 weeks after the treatment, the EOS apoptosis rate in observation group was obviously higher than that in control group (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The treatment of salbutamol combined with budesonide for pediatric BA has significant therapeutic effects; it can restore the pulmonary functions rapidly and improve the immunity of the lung, reduce the levels of eotaxin, ECP and EOS of the child patients and promote EOS apoptosis.

KEY WORDS: Albuterol; Budesonide; Asthma; Eosinophils; Pediatrics