- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Know Your Asthma Triggers
- Obesity May Raise Kids' Allergy Risk
- Traffic, Dust Linked to Asthma in Kids
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Awareness of Alternative Therapies May Be Lacking
- Massage Therapy Helps Those With Advanced Cancer
- Acupuncture Eases Side Effects of Head, Neck Cancer Treatments
- ANIMAL CARE
- Rest Easy. When It Comes to Swine Flu, Your Pet Is Safe
- Animals Respond to Acupuncture's Healing Touch
- Separation Anxiety, Canine-Style
- BONES & JOINTS
- Active Young Women Need Calcium, Vitamin D
- Genes May Help Drive Rotator Cuff Injury
- Using a Balloon to Repair a Broken Back
- CANCER
- Supplements Might Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
- Where You Live May Affect Your Cancer Diagnosis
- Red Meat No No No But Oily Fish Yes Yes Yes
- CAREGIVING
- Exercise During Pregnancy May Help Baby
- Medication Errors Could Be Cut: Experts
- Weekend Admission May Be Riskier for GI Bleeding
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- A Brisk Pace May Keep Stroke at Bay
- Anemia Rates Down for U.S. Women and Children
- Laughter Can Boost Heart Health
- COSMETIC
- Gum Chewing May Cut Craving for Snacks
- Wrinkle Fillers Need Better Label Warnings: FDA Panel
- Study Evaluates Laser Therapies for Hair Removal
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Gum Disease May Reactivate AIDS Virus
- An Oral Approach to Heart Disease
- Acupuncture May Ease Anxiety Over Dental Work
- DIABETES
- Doctors Urged to Screen Diabetics for Sleep Apnea
- Red-Grape Compound May Improve Diabetes
- Older Diabetics With Depression Face Higher Death Rate
- DIET, NUTRITION
- The Best Diet? That Depends on You
- Functional Foods Uncovered
- Proven Strategies for Avoiding Colds and the Flu
- DISABILITIES
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Clear Skies Have Become Less So Over Time, Data Show
- Researchers ID Genetic Markers for Esophageal Cancer
- Environmental Chemicals May Affect Male Reproduction
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Too Much Sun, Too Few Antioxidants Spell Eye Trouble
- Brain Adapts to Age-Related Eye Disease
- Action-Filled Video Games Boost Adult Vision
- FITNESS
- After a Stroke, Light Exercise Gets Hands, Arms Working Again
- Exercise Extends Life of Kidney Patients
- FDA Mandates New Warnings for Botox
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Soothing Imagery May Help Rid Some Kids of Stomach Pain
- Intestinal Bacteria Trigger Immune Response
- Traditional Nonsurgical GERD Treatments Not Impressive
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Eating Lots Of Vegetables, Olive Oil May Extend Life
- Lose Weight, Sleep Apnea May Improve
- Hand-Washing Habits Still Need Improvement: Survey Says
- HEAD & NECK
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- Imaging Sheds Light on How Acupuncture Works
- Save Your Aging Brain, Try Surfing The Web
- 'Cell Phone Elbow' -- A New Ill for the Wired Age
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Review Confirms Links Between Diet, Heart Health
- Vitamin B3 May Help Repair Brain After a Stroke
- After a Stroke, Light Exercise Gets Hands, Arms Working Again
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- More Medicinal Uses for Pomegranate
- Viral Infection Might Trigger High Blood Pressure
- Swine Flu Loves a Crowd
- KID'S HEALTH
- Frequent Feedings May Be Making Babies Fat
- Bullying Seems to Affect Kids Years Later
- Eating Fish, Breast-Feeding Boost Infant Development
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Sunlight May Help Protect Men From Kidney Cancer
- The Dark Side of Vegetarianism
- Low Iron Levels Cut Cancer Risk in Men With PAD
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Music Soothes Anxiety as Well as Massage Does
- The Acne Drug Accutane More Than Doubles Depression Risk
- Using the Mind to Heal the Heart
- PAIN
- Alleviating Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Tai Chi May Help Ease Fibromyalgia
- 'Cell Phone Elbow' -- A New Ill for the Wired Age
- PREGNANCY
- Music of Mozart Soothes the Preemie Baby
- Sugary Colas Tied to Gestational Diabetes
- Breast-Feeding Benefits Moms and Babies
- SENIORS
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- Memory Loss Help from Brain Supplement Prevagen
- Older People at Greater Risk of Swine Flu Death
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Combo Treatment Eases Wheezing in Babies
By eHolistic.com Published: 05/13/2009
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- A combination of commonly used medications may ease the symptoms of bronchiolitis -- a virus-triggered condition that causes wheezing in babies.
New research suggests this treatment may reduce the risk of hospitalization by more than one-third, as well as stop wheezing sooner and get babies back to normal feeding sooner than either treatment alone or a placebo.
"Until this point, we've had no good treatment options for bronchiolitis, except for supplemental oxygen and extra fluids. In this study, we looked at two medications that have been used to treat bronchiolitis without great benefit when used separately. But, combining the two resulted in a reduction of hospitalizations," said study author Dr. Amy Plint, a pediatric emergency physician at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, Canada.
Results of the study appear in the May 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Bronchiolitis is a common illness in very young children. About one in three youngsters in Western countries will have at least one episode of wheezing before turning 3, according to information in an editorial in the same issue of the journal. Most of this wheezing, the editorial authors pointed out, isn't the result of asthma. Instead, it is triggered by a virus.
Plint and her colleagues included 800 infants with bronchiolitis who were between the ages of 6 weeks and 12 months. The babies were randomly assigned to one of four groups: The first group was given two treatments of nebulized epinephrine and six oral doses of the corticosteroid dexamethasone for five days; the second received nebulized epinephrine and an oral placebo; the third group received a nebulized placebo and the oral dexamethasone; and the final group was given a nebulized and oral placebo treatment.
After seven days, 17.1 percent of babies in the double-treatment group had to be hospitalized. In comparison, 23.7 percent in the epinephrine-only group had to be admitted, 25.6 percent in the dexamethasone group were hospitalized, and 26.4 percent in the placebo group were admitted to the hospital.
The group that received the combination treatment also needed less medical care, stopped wheezing sooner, and returned to normal feeding sooner than babies in the other groups.
"I think we now have good evidence of a combined treatment that appears to have benefits in reducing hospitalizations and proving treatment benefits," said Plint.
Not everyone agrees, however.
The editorial authors wrote that, "Given the small effect size of the study -- 11 infants would have to be treated to prevent one hospital admission -- it does not seem practical to apply the treatment, especially considering the potential effects of high-dose corticosteroids on brain and lung development in such young children."
However, Plint said the treatment was well-tolerated, and there's no evidence in this age group that there are any neurodevelopmental effects from a short course of steroids. And, she pointed out, steroids are often given to help the lungs mature in premature infants.
"Parents should understand when looking at different treatment modalities, a combination of medications may be more effective than either one alone. But, more studies need to be done," said Dr. Jennifer Appleyard, chief of allergy and immunology at St. John Hospital in Detroit.
Appleyard said she is concerned, however, that if this combination becomes the treatment of choice in the emergency room that children who make multiple visits over the course of a viral season might end up getting repeated high doses of steroids.
Plint said that this combination treatment should only be used for a child's first episode of wheezing.
More information
To read more about bronchiolitis, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
SOURCES: Amy Plint, M.D., pediatric emergency physician, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and associate professor, pediatrics and emergency medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada; Jennifer Appleyard, M.D., chief, allergy and immunology, St. John Hospital, Detroit; May 14, 2009, New England Journal of Medicine
Last Updated: May 13, 2009
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