Skip to main content
. 2002 Jan 21;2002(1):CD003530. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003530

Baran 1987.

Methods Setting: Belgium, residential centre for asthmatic children
 Length of intervention: 3 weeks
 Design: crossover, no washout
 Randomisation: yes, method not stated 
 Allocation concealment: unclear
 Masking: double blind
 Excluded: not stated
 Withdrawals: stated (none)
 Baseline characteristics: no tabulated demographic data
 Jadad score: 3
Participants 21 children: 15M 6F
 Age range: 4‐14
 Inclusion criteria:
 Children suffering from chronic asthma and using inhaled corticosteroids to control their disease
 No other criteria given
 Exclusion criteria:
 None stated
Interventions BDP: 50 mcg 2puffs 2xdaily (200 mcg/d) via MDI
BUD: 50 mcg 2puffs 2xdaily (200 mcg/d) via Inhalet spacer
Outcomes FEV1
 FVC
 Morning PEFR
 Evening PEFR
 Daytime breathlessness score
 Night‐time breathlessness score
 Daily cough score
 Sleeping difficulties score
 8 am plasma cortisol 
 Incidence of oropharyngeal Candidiasis
 Both active treatment arms demonstrated significant improvements compared to non‐randomised placebo arm for morning PEFR, evening PEFR and symptom scores.
Notes No reply from author to clarify details of randomisation method
 Not stated if carryover effects were tested for.
 Significant improvements in morning PEFR, evening PEFR and symptoms compared to non‐randomised placebo treatment period at end of study.
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Allocation concealment (selection bias) Unclear risk B ‐ Unclear