A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included one small study with a total of 43 subjects. The recruited participants were not experiencing current chest infections, and had a recent history of persistent cough. Participants were randomised to receive inhaled salbutamol or placebo two puffs twice a day (100 mcg salbutamol per puff) for 5-7 days. Therapies administered via a metered dose inhaler (MDI) with a spacer. Cough frequency was the principal outcome and it was assessed over 24 hrs at day 5-7 of the study.
Cough frequency and other outcome variables (subjective cough scores, capsaicin cough stimulation test) did not change significantly in either treatment group and there was no significant difference between the groups, not either between airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) positive and negative groups. The confidence intervals are wide and this study can neither confirm nor rule out clinical benefit from inhaled beta2-agonists in chronic cough in children.
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