Sodium cromoglycate in childhood asthma

• Published in: Thorax 2001-04, Vol.56 (4), p.331-331
• Main Authors: EDWARDS, A, HOLGATE, S, HOWELL, J, WARNER, J, STEVENS, M, ÅBERG, N, CALLAGHAN, B, IIKURA, Y, KÖNIG, P, REINHARDT, D, STENIUS-AARNIALA, B, WEINBERG, E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administration, Inhalation; Adolescent; Age; Anti-Asthmatic Agents - administration & dosage; Asthma; Asthma - drug therapy; Child; Confidence intervals; Cromolyn Sodium - administration & dosage; Drug dosages; Humans; Letters to the Editor; Nebulizers and Vaporizers; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Studies
• ISSN: 0040-6376; 1468-3296
• DOI: 10.1136/thorax.56.4.331

Of the two trials which used the 5mg MDI, one was conducted in patients for whom the drug is not indicated-recurrent respiratory symptoms in preterm babies at a dose of 5mg three times daily using a coffee cup as a spacer- and the other was conducted by the authors of this paper in a general practice setting in children aged 1-4 years and it has already been pointed out that the delivery system used may not have provided an adequate dose. 5 6 They also used less than the recommended dose (three times a day rather than four) and an incorrect dosing method (two puffs into the spacer for one inhalation). Common pitfalls of narrative reviews are that they tend to repeat the success stories of medical history but ignore negative studies, that they are authority based instead of evidence based, and authors of this type of review may have strong relations with pharmaceutical companies. 1-10-1-12 Our aim was not to give our personal opinion but to assess the benefits of SCG in asthmatic children in a systematic and unbiased way, without conflicts of interest.