Baseline characteristics of study subjects
| Item | Salbutamol (n=18) | Aminophylline (n=26) | p value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Values are medians with interquartile ranges or proportions with percentages. | |||
| *Comparison of subjects in each group: medians compared with Wilcoxon rank sum test; proportions compared with χ2 or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. | |||
| M:F (% males) | 12:6 (66.7%) | 20:6 (76.9%) | 0.45 |
| Age (years) | 3.85 (1.35, 15.55) | 4.12 (1.19, 13.13) | 0.80 |
| Weight (kg) | 15.0 (12.0, 30.4) | 16.8 (12.5, 30.0) | 0.83 |
| Age at which asthma diagnosed (years) | 2.00 (1.00, 2.75) | 1.25 (1.00, 2.75) | 0.63 |
| No of previous admissions with asthma | 1 (0, 2) | 1 (0, 4) | 0.54 |
| Previous intravenous therapy for asthma | 4 (22.2%) | 4 (15.4%) | 0.70 |
| Previous ventilatory support for asthma | 1 (5.6%) | 1 (3.9%) | 1.00 |
| No with eczema | 8 (88.8%) | 8 (72.7%) | 1.00 |
| Duration of exacerbation (hours) | 24 (24, 72) | 24 (24, 48) | 0.36 |
| Treatment with nebulised β agonists before presentation | 2 (11.8%) | 5 (20.0%) | 0.68 |
| Duration of treatment with systemic corticosteroids pre-study bolus (hours) | 3.0 (0.5, 10.9) | 0.0 (0.0, 3.5) | 0.06 |
| ASS on admission | 8 (6, 9) | 9 (7, 9) | 0.45 |
| ASS at start of study bolus | 8 (7, 8) | 8 (7, 9) | 0.76 |
| Saturation in air on admission | 87.5% (<84.0, 91.0) | 90.0% (87.0, 94.0) | 0.26 |
| Saturation in air at start of study bolus | 91.0% (88.5, 93.5) | 91.0% (88.0, 93.0) | 0.77 |
| Need for supplementary oxygen at start of trial bolus | 14 (77.8%) | 19 (79.2%) | 0.91 |