Response to epinephrine in children receiving oral beta-agonists
D. R. Ownby and J. Anderson
Physicians are sometimes concerned that the regular use of oral
beta-agonists in the outpatient management of childhood asthma will result
in decreased sensitivity or tachyphylaxis to these agents. While
tachyphylaxis might not be clinically important during outpatient
treatment, it could become significant during the emergency treatment of
acute asthmatic attacks. We compared the increase in peak flow measurements
before and 20 minutes after the injection of subcutaneous epinephrine
hydrochloride in children with acute asthma and found no significant
differences between those patients taking and those not taking oral
beta-agonists.
