A randomised, placebo controlled trial of inhaled salbutamol and beclomethasone for recurrent cough.

AIMS To test the hypothesis that inhaled salbutamol or beclomethasone will reduce the frequency of cough in children with recurrent cough. A secondary aim was to determine if the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) can predict the response. DESIGN Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial. METHODS During a coughing phase, 43 children (age 6-17 years) with recurrent cough were randomised to receive inhaled salbutamol or placebo (phase I) for 5-7 days and then beclomethasone or placebo (phase II) for 4-5 weeks, and in a subgroup of children for 8-9 weeks. The children used an ambulatory cough meter, kept cough diaries, and performed the capsaicin cough sensitivity, hypertonic saline bronchoprovocation, and skin prick tests. RESULTS Salbutamol or beclomethasone had no effect on cough frequency or score, irrespective of the presence of AHR. CONCLUSIONS Most children with recurrent cough without other evidence of airway obstruction, do not have asthma and neither inhaled salbutamol nor beclomethasone is beneficial.