Betül KARAATMACA, Metin AYDOĞAN, Dilek Yavuzcan ÖZTÜRK, Rengin ŞİRANECİ
Cam and Sakura Medical Journal - 2026;6(2):44-51
Objective: Acute bronchiolitis is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections, and a wide range of clinical symptoms from mild cough to severe respiratory distress can be seen during the disease course. The optimal treatment for bronchiolitis has been controversial; the role of bronchodilators in the treatment of bronchiolitis is uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of nebulized therapies with control groups in the treatment of acute bronchiolitis. Material and Methods: A prospective, randomized, and double blinded study was conducted among the infants diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis in a tertiary children's hospital. Heart rate, respiratory rate (RR), oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry, respiratory distress assessment instrument and side effects were recorded in the follow-up form. Results: A total of 60 infants (66% male) diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis were included into the study. The median age of the patients at admission was 6.5 (3.5-9.5) months, and the median duration time of prodromal symptoms was 5.5 (3-7) days and wheezing symptoms was 3 (2-5) days. The baseline characteristics were similar in all groups (p>0.05). The outcome of patients at 120th minute was found to be significantly better than the baseline values (p<0.05). However, RR was improved statistically significantly at 30th minute in the salbutamol group (p=0.031). No serious side effects were observed in any patient during the follow-up. Conclusion: The effectiveness of nebulized salbutamol, epinephrine, budesonide and normal saline treatments were not different in infants with mild bronchiolitis; however, nebulized salbutamol was found to be a little bit more effective in short-term improvement.
