Article : Helium-Oxygen Therapy Improves Bronchiolitis Scores...

Helium-Oxygen Therapy Improves Bronchiolitis Scores in Infants Receiving Nebulized Epinephrine

Improvement was noted on each of two validated severity scores.


Investigators evaluated the effects of treatment with 70% helium/30% oxygen compared with 100% oxygen in a randomized trial of 69 infants aged 2 to 12 months with bronchiolitis who presented to a pediatric emergency department (ED) and were predicted to require hospital admission by two validated clinical severity scales (Modified Wood's Clinical Asthma Score and Respiratory Distress Assessment Instrument). Infants received nebulized albuterol, per ED protocol, before randomization, and then received nebulized racemic epinephrine via face mask along with the assigned gas. At 1 hour, infants with scores reflecting persistent symptoms received a second delivery of nebulized epinephrine with the assigned gas. When epinephrine was not being administered, the assigned gas was delivered via humidified high-flow nasal cannula.

At 4 hours, patients in the helium-oxygen group had significantly greater improvement on one scale, but the difference did not reach the predefined clinically significant threshold. The score difference on the other scale was both statistically and clinically significant in favor of the helium-oxygen mixture.


Citation(s):

Kim IK et al. Helium-oxygen therapy for infants with bronchiolitis: A randomized controlled trial. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2011 Dec; 165:1115.

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