METABOLIC, CIRCULATORY, AND BRONCHOMOTOR RESPONSES OF ASTHMATIC CHILDREN TO EPINEPHRINE INFUSION - PHARMACOLOGIC EFFECTS

In our study, 7 chronically ill asthmatic children received epinephrine at a metered rate of 4 to 8 μg per minute for 60 minutes by intravenous infusion. Blood specimens were obtained at 15 minute intervals for one hour before, at 10 minute interval during, and at 15 minute intervals for one hour after the infusion and analyzed for glucose, free fatty acids, and ketones. Blood pressure and pulse rates were monitored during the total period of observation. Pulmonary function tests (maximal and maximal mid-expiratory flow rates) were made prior to, during, and after epinephrine infusion. The data were compared with those of 4 control subjects of comparable age and weight for fasting levels, rate of rise to maximum point achieved during the infusion, the rate of return to normal, and a comparison of initial level with those at the end of the recovery period. A discriminant analysis by computer failed to demonstrate a significant difference in metabolic response between the asthmatic and control patients. Four of 7 children with asthma revealed a better than 20 per cent improvement in the maximal mid-expiratory flow rate after infusion. The asthmatic subjects tended to show a greater mean pulse rate rise when the preinfusion to peak response period was compared with that of the control. © 1969.