Muhammad Nadeem Hameed, Saba Abdul Sattar, Waqar Hussain.
Montelukast - an effective and simple therapeutic option in bronchiolitis.
Pak Paed J Jan ;38(4):229-34.

Introduction: Bronchiolitis is characterized by inflammation of bronchioles mostly affecting infants. Despite being the commonest lower respiratory infection globally, there is no single .effective, reliable, easy-to-administer therapeutic remedy available for treatment of bronchiolitis. Montelukast – an anti leukotriene agent has been used in modifying the disease severity and duration of illness with variable results. Objective: We evaluated the role of montelukast in modifying the disease severity and duration of illness among hospitalized children with first episode of bronchiolitis. Study Design: Analytical clinical trial. Place of Study: Departments of Paediatrics, Shalamar Medical & Dental College, Lahore. Duration of study: 1st September 2013 till 31stJanuary 2014 Materials & Methods: Sixty children of both genders, between 3 and 24 months of age, admitted with first episode of bronchiolitis were included. Each case was given standard treatment with nebulised salbutamol along with oxygen and other supportive measures as required. Patients were randomized within 12 hours of admission to receive either daily dose of montelukast or no additional drug; dividing the study population into “Interventional” and “Non-Interventional” groups. Daily clinical severity score along with duration of hospital stay was recorded in both the groups being medically fit for discharge. Results: Interventional group had significantly lesser “Clinical Severity Score” and “hospital stay before discharge” when compared with Non-interventional group (p-values 0.003 and <0.001 respectively) Conclusion: Montelukast is an effective therapeutic option for reducing clinical severity of disease and hospital stay in children with first episode of bronchiolitis. Abbreviations: Cysteinyl-leukotrienes (cys-LT), Clinical Severity Score (CSS),

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