A randomized clinical trial of magnesium sulphate as a vehicle for nebulized salbutamol in the treatment of moderate to severe asthma attacks.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Adrenal Cortex Hormones.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of nebulized salbutamol administrated through either MgSO4 or isotonic saline solution on the 'peak expiratory flow rate' (PEFR), other respiratory and clinical parameters, and hospitalization rate of patients suffering from moderate to severe asthma attacks.

Why It Was Studied

The nebulizations were repeated every 20 min for the first hour and every hour for the rest of 4 h.

The PEFR measurements and clinical assessment were performed after nebulization at 20th, 60th, 120th, 180th and 240th minutes.

Who Took Part

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were teenagers, adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

Twenty-six patients with asthma attack were enrolled in the study in a randomized single blind fashion.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized and single-blind.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Adrenal Cortex Hormones and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

In this single-blind Adrenal Cortex Hormones study one party knew the assignments and the other did not.

What Was Measured

The PEFR measurements and clinical assessment were performed after nebulization at 20th, 60th, 120th, 180th and 240th minutes.

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Adrenal Cortex Hormones, Albuterol, Asthma, Bronchodilator Agents, Calcium Channel Blockers, Drug Delivery Systems and Isotonic Solutions.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and single-blind study of Adrenal Cortex Hormones.

The publication is from 2005 (Pulmonary pharmacology & therapeutics), a journal based in England.

More context: all human trials.