AIMS: To determine the effect of age on systemic exposure to inhaled salbutamol in children. METHODS: Fifty-eight asthmatic children, aged 3-16 years, inhaled 400 microg of salbutamol from a pressurized metered dose inhaler with spacer. The 20 min serum profile was analyzed. RESULTS: Prescribing a dose on a microg kg(-1) basis caused reduced systemic exposure in young children (Y) compared with older children (O) (C(max-microg kg(-1)-adjusted) Y : O ratio (95%CI) = 0.55 (0.47, 0.65)) whereas a fixed nominal dose irrespective of age caused increased exposure in young children (C(max) Y : O ratio (95%CI) = 1.7 (1.3, 2.2)). CONCLUSIONS: For similar systemic exposure, dosing should be adjusted to age or size but not on a fixed microg kg(-1) basis, which may lead to unnecessary suboptimal dosing.
AIMS: To determine the effect of age on systemic exposure to inhaled salbutamol in children. METHODS: Fifty-eight asthmatic children, aged 3-16 years, inhaled 400 microg of salbutamol from a pressurized metered dose inhaler with spacer. The 20 min serum profile was analyzed. RESULTS: Prescribing a dose on a microg kg(-1) basis caused reduced systemic exposure in young children (Y) compared with older children (O) (C(max-microg kg(-1)-adjusted) Y : O ratio (95%CI) = 0.55 (0.47, 0.65)) whereas a fixed nominal dose irrespective of age caused increased exposure in young children (C(max) Y : O ratio (95%CI) = 1.7 (1.3, 2.2)). CONCLUSIONS: For similar systemic exposure, dosing should be adjusted to age or size but not on a fixed microg kg(-1) basis, which may lead to unnecessary suboptimal dosing.
Authors: Deborah Bickmann; Wolfgang Kamin; Ashish Sharma; Herbert Wachtel; Petra Moroni-Zentgraf; Stefan Zielen Journal: J Aerosol Med Pulm Drug Deliv Date: 2015-06-22 Impact factor: 2.849