A randomized trial of a single dose of oral dexamethasone for mild croup.

BACKGROUND: The benefits of dexamethasone treatment for moderate-to-severe croup are well established. However, most children with croup have mild symptoms, and it is unknown whether they would derive the same degree of benefit from dexamethasone treatment as children with more severe disease. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind trial at four pediatric emergency departments in which 720 children with mild croup were randomly assigned to receive one oral dose of either dexamethasone (0.6 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo. The children had mild croup, as defined by a score of < or =2 on the croup scoring system of Westley et al. The primary outcome was a return to a medical care provider for croup within seven days after treatment. The secondary outcome was the presence of ongoing symptoms of croup on days 1, 2, and 3 after treatment. Other outcomes included economic costs, hours of sleep lost by the child, and stress on the part of the parent in relation to the child's illness. RESULTS: Baseline clinical characteristics were similar in the two groups. Return to medical care was significantly lower in the dexamethasone group (7.3 percent vs. 15.3 percent, P<0.001). In the dexamethasone group, there was quicker resolution of croup symptoms (P=0.003), less lost sleep (P<0.001), and less stress on the part of the parent (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For children with mild croup, dexamethasone is an effective treatment that results in consistent and small but important clinical and economic benefits. Although the long-term effects of this treatment are not known, our data support the use of dexamethasone in most, if not all, children with croup.

The cost-effective use of nebulized racemic epinephrine in the treatment of croup.

Recent studies have shown that discharging to home an emergency department (ED) patient with croup if the patient is clinically stable 3 to 4 hours after being treated with nebulized racemic epinephrine (NRE) is safe and cost-effective. The objective of this study was to determine if EDs in our geographic area are using NRE cost-effectively in the management of croup. A survey was mailed to the ED medical directors of 23 hospitals in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana within a 150-mile radius of our teaching/referral children's hospital. All the hospitals surveyed were community hospitals with EDs and in-patient pediatric units. The survey presented a 2-year-old with a croup-like illness and stridor at rest whom they have just treated with NRE and dexamethasone. The medical directors were asked what their disposition would be once the NRE therapy has been completed: automatically admit, transfer, discharge immediately, or observe for 3 to 4 hours and if stable at that time discharge to home with follow-up. Seven (30%) indicated they would automatically admit, compared with 16 (70%) who indicated they would observe for 3 to 4 hours (P = .06). This article discusses potential reasons that 30% of the ED medical directors in our geographic area would automatically admit these patients rather than observe for signs of improvement that could lead to safe discharge and resultant cost savings.

A risk-benefit assessment of corticosteroids in the management of croup.

Croup is an acute clinical syndrome of childhood characterised by a barking cough, hoarse voice, stridor and a variable degree of respiratory distress. A meta-analysis and subsequent controlled trials clearly demonstrate that corticosteroids are efficacious in the management of croup, with their benefits conclusively outweighing their risks. In mild to moderate cases of croup either systemic or nebulised corticosteroids decrease symptoms and need for hospitalisation. Most reports use IM dexamethasone 0.6 mg/kg, although it is likely that dexamethasone 0.15 mg/kg has a similar effect. In controlled studies nebulised budesonide 2 mg is superior to placebo, and appears to have equivalent efficacy to oral dexamethasone. The risk of a single or short course of systemic corticosteroids are minimal, the only potential significant adverse effect being increased risk of severe varicella infection. Short courses of nebulised budesonide have no major adverse effects, and thus are likely to cause fewer adverse effects than systemic corticosteroids, although this is as yet unproven. On the body of data published to date, either oral dexamethasone 0.15 mg/kg or nebulised budesonide 2 mg are effective for mild to moderate croup. In severe croup requiring intubation, oral prednisolone 1 mg/kg every 12 hours decreases the duration of intubation and the need for re intubation. Unless there are clear contraindications, corticosteroids are the treatment of choice in mild, moderate and severe croup.