Steroids, Not Universally Useful For Wheezing

In asthma, steroids are fantastic. The earlier, the better. In bronchiolitis, another wheezing-spectrum illness, mostly probably not. How about the general, ambulatory, viral lower respiratory tract infections with wheezing?

This randomized, controlled trial enrolled patients at family practice clinics in Britain with non-asthmatic wheezing relating to a suspected “chest infection”. Patients received either 40mg of oral prednisolone for five days or matching placebo. The primary outcome was duration of moderately bad or worse cough, as recorded by a patient-reported symptom diary, with secondary outcomes of subsequent antibiotic use, cumulative symptom scores, and quality of life scores, and other resource utilization measures.

These authors enrolled 401 patients, 398 of whom received the study intervention. There were no important differences between enrolled groups at baseline – and, there were no reliable, important differences in measured outcomes, either the primary symptom-related outcome, or any of the secondary outcomes.

The strength of this evidence is not such that it eliminates the possibility of a clinically important benefit for a subgroup of patients, but I consider it practice-changing because there was such little reliable evidence at baseline. I have certainly felt it was reasonable to discharge patients with suspected viral LRTI, wheezing, and bronchospasm on an oral steroid based on a low risk profile and at least a hoped-for, physiologically-justified, benefit. Now, the onus is on a subsequent trial to demonstrate said benefit before resuming such practice.

“Effect of Oral Prednisolone on Symptom Duration and Severity in Nonasthmatic Adults With Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection”
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2649201