Abstract Purpose: There are only a few studies exploring the role of magnesium sulfate in very young children with asthma, and none of them have established a safe and effective dose for these children. Objectives: The primary objectives were to evaluate the proportion of children with acute exacerbation of wheeze among whom intensive care unit (ICU) admissions can be prevented by magnesium sulfate and to determine the change in severity scores 1 h post-intervention, while the secondary objectives were to correlate serum magnesium concentration with outcome and to assess the adverse effects of intravenous magnesium sulfate. Materials and Methods: This was a pilot randomized blinded trial which included children 2–5 years of age with acute exacerbation of asthma who had a Pediatric Respiratory Assessment Measure (PRAM) score of 8 or more at presentation and continued to have the same score 1 h after presentation. They were randomized to either receive 25 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg of magnesium sulfate intravenously. The change in the severity of PRAM scores and serum magnesium levels was measured pre- and post-intervention. Findings: Out of the 20 enrolled children, 10 children were randomized to each group. None required ICU admission. The change in PRAM score between the two groups at different time points was not significantly different. There was no significant correlation between the serum magnesium levels and the change in PRAM score, nor any significant difference in the side effects between the two groups. Implications: There was no significant difference in the outcomes studied between the two doses of magnesium sulfate in preschool asthma exacerbation.
Chakicherla et al. (Thu,) studied this question.