A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Nasal Phenylephrine in Infants Hospitalized for Bronchiolitis
Received 25 January 2008; received in revised form 31 March 2008; accepted 3 June 2008. published online 28 July 2008.
Objective
To examine the hypothesis that pharmacologic treatment of nasal obstruction, specifically alpha-adrenergic nose drops, will decrease objective signs of respiratory distress in infants with bronchiolitis.
Study design
Forty-one infants aged 3 weeks to 12 months hospitalized for viral bronchiolitis were enrolled in this double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of topical 0.5% phenylephrine drops. The primary outcome measure was change in oxygen saturation. Secondary outcomes were changes in respiratory scores and vital signs.
Results
There were no statistical differences in any of the outcome measures between groups. No adverse events were observed. Overall, participants showed an average 1.6 percentage point increase in their oxygen saturations (P = .002) and a 0.5-point improvement in respiratory score (P = .003) over the 30 minutes of the study.
Conclusions
Topical nasal phenylephrine did not produce significant short-term improvements in clinical status in infants hospitalized for acute bronchiolitis.
aDepartment of Pediatrics, Community Medical Center, Missoula, MT
bGeneral Clinical Research Center and Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM
Reprint requests: Shawn Ralston, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229
Supported by University of New Mexico General Clinical Research Center NCRR Grant M01-RR-00997. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
ABSTRACT