Thursday, January 22, 2009
Oral Prednisolone for Preschool Children

A few co-workers alerted me to a recent article published in regards to a study in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine regarding giving Oral Prednisolone to preschool-aged children.

After reading the articles produced from the abstract and/or full NEJM text I talked to my husband about it to hear his thoughts. He's likely to play devil's advocate when it comes to medical articles and studies. And that is true in this case as well. He said there is no alternative in terms of helping to open their airways and it's been known for decades that no other alternative exists, so this isn't really "news" per say.

Braeden is five years old and is currently on Prednisolone due to his asthma. We do see that it helps him better than Albuterol alone when he is having a prolonged attack or week long persistent, hacking cough.

And really there is probably a lot of things effecting his height and weight, not just the use of occasional steroids to help him breath.

Click here to read the NEJM abstract.

Click here to read an article at BBC News - Health: Doubt over child steroid tactic.

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