Equivalence of a single saline nebulised dose of formoterol powder vs three doses of nebulised Albuterol every twenty minutes in acute asthma in children: a suitable cost effective approach for developing nations

BackgroundAn increase in asthma prevalence is reported from developed as well as developing nations, with rising costs from acute asthma and great expenditures to health care systems. Venezuela's Ministry of Health ambulatory facilities care for 80% or more of a mostly urban and impoverished population of 26 million inhabitants, registering close to a million acute asthma visits per year; a nebulised fixed fenoterol-ipratropium bromide combination (Berodual®, Boehringer-Ingelheim) in repeated dosing is the standard treatment.Objectivesto simplify acute asthma care and management in a cost effective manner employing Formoterol Fumarate powder, a long acting beta agonist with immediate bronchodilator effects.MethodologyFifty acute asthmatic children (5-12 years old) were randomly assigned (25 patients in each group) to receive either a nebulised single dose (US $1.35) of two 12 μg Formoterol Fumarate capsules (Foradil® 12 μg/cap, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland) diluted in 2.5 ml of sterile saline solution; or 3 doses of Albuterol (US $ 6.73) every twenty minutes for one hour (Glaxo Smith Kline Albuterol ampoules, 2.5 mg/2.5 ml, at a dose of 0.15 mg/kg/dose, maximum dose 2.5 mg). Symptoms score, oxygen saturation and lung function testing were recorded before and one hour after commencing treatments.ResultsBoth groups improved significantly on all parameters, except for FEV 1 in the Albuterol group.ConclusionsSingle dose nebulised Formoterol Fumarate (dry powder) in sterile saline solution, as depicted in this trial, is equivalent to three doses of Albuterol every twenty minutes for one hour in acute asthma in children, simplifying acute care management and at one fifth of medication costs. A pursuit of simpler and more cost effective approaches is found wanting in developing nations with depressed economies and unique cultural and socio-medical contexts; also, in countries where pharmaco-economics orients quality of health policies, novel approaches like this are worth exploring.