How two puffs of salbutamol can change tonsillectomy outcomes
Practice-altering Aussie study shown to prevent one in five respiratory adverse events in young children
Having two puffs of salbutamol preoperatively can prevent one out of five young children undergoing tonsillectomy from having a respiratory adverse event, an Australian trial shows.
The REACT trial was a randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial testing whether two puffs of salbutamol (100µg each) given at least 20 minutes before anaesthesia for tonsillectomy decreases the risk of perioperative respiratory adverse events.
These events occurred in 67 of 241 children (28%) given salbutamol (also known as albuterol) and 114 of 238 children (48%) receiving placebo, Dr Britta von Ungern-Sternberg from Perth Children’s Hospital and colleagues report in JAMA Pediatrics.
All the children were aged 0-8 years.
