All issues > Volume 32(5); 1989

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1989;32(5):678-686. Published online May 31, 1989.

The Use of Continuous Theophylline Infusion in Pediatrc Severe Bronchial Asthma.

Jae Wook Lee¹, Hyang Suk Hyun¹, Byung Hak Lim¹, Im Ju Kang¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Fatima Hospital, Taegu, Korea

Received: July 13, 1988;  Accepted: November 4, 1988.

Abstract

When a pediatric patient is seen in severe bronchial asthma, he or she is treated with an intravenous theophylline preparation that is administered in an initial intravenous loading followed by a constant infusion. But when constant infusion is impossible, a fourth of the 24 hours calculated dosage may be preferred intravenously every 6 hours. We compared the time interval to steady state, pulmonary function at steady state, theophylline toxicity by infusion method in 73 children with severe bronchial asthma. The theophylline clearance was significantly rapid between the ages of 1 and 9 years as 1.27±0.29 ml/kg/min. The time interval to steady state was significantly short in continuous infusion. At steady state, pulmonary function was more rapidly improved in continuous infusion. But toxicity such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and insomnia was more frequently developed in continuous infusion. Therefore it seems important to adjust the intravenous theophylline dose in each age and continuous infusion after loading is more efficient in therapy of pediatric severe bronchial asthma.

Keywords :Bronchial asthma, Continuous theophylline infusion