Efficacy of a short course of parent-initiated oral prednisolone for viral wheeze in children aged 1-5 years: randomised controlled trial

Background Episodic wheeze triggered by viral colds is common in children aged between 1 and 5 years (preschool viral wheeze). Most affected children are asymptomatic by age 6 years. Persistence of wheeze is associated with above-average systemic eosinophil priming. Use of parental-initiated oral prednisolone is recommended at the first sign of preschool viral wheeze. However, evidence for this treatment strategy is conflicting. We therefore aimed to assess the efficacy of a short course of oral prednisolone for preschool viral wheeze, with stratification for systemic eosinophil priming. Methods Children aged 1-5 years admitted to hospital with viral wheeze were allocated to either a high-primed or low-primed stratum according to amounts of serum eosinophil cationic protein and eosinophil protein X, and randomised to parent-initiated prednisolone (20 mg one daily for 5 days) or placebo for the next episode. The primary outcomes were the 7-day mean daytime and night-time respiratory symptom scores, which were analysed by mean differences between treatment groups. Findings 108 children were randomised to placebo and 109 to prednisolone. Outcome data were available for 120 (78%) of 153 children who had a further episode of viral wheeze, of whom 51 received prednisolone and 69 placebo. Mean daytime (difference in means -0.01 [-0.22 to 0.20]) and night-time (0.10 [-0.12 to 0.32]) respiratory symptom scores and need for hospital admission did not differ between treatment groups. Within the high-primed (n=59) and low-primed (n=61) strata there was no difference in primary outcome between treatment groups. Interpretation There is no clear benefit of a short course of parent-initiated oral prednisolone for viral wheeze in children aged 1-5 years even in those with above-average eosinophil priming.