Dexamethasone versus methylprednisolone for critical asthma: A single center, open-label, parallel-group clinical trial.

Background: Evidence for the use of dexamethasone for pediatric critical asthma is limited. We sought to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of dexamethasone versus methylprednisolone among children hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for critical asthma.

Methods: A prospective, single center, open-label, two-arm, parallel-group, nonrandomized trial among children ages 5-17 years hospitalized within the PICU from April 2019 to December 2021 for critical asthma consented to receive methylprednisolone (standard care) or dexamethasone (intervention) at a 2:1 allocation ratio, respectively.

Dexamethasone for Pediatric Critical Asthma: A Multicenter Descriptive Study.

Background: Systemic corticosteroids are vital to critical asthma management. While intravenous methylprednisolone is routinely used in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) setting, recent data supports dexamethasone as an alternative. Using the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) registry, we assessed trends and variation in corticosteroid prescribing among children hospitalized for critical asthma.

Benefits of Thoracic Epidural Analgesia in Patients Undergoing an Open Posterior Component Separation for Abdominal Herniorrhaphy.

An open posterior component separation (PCS) is a commonly utilized surgical approach for repair of complex abdominal wall defects and hernias. Although this approach may improve surgical outcomes, significant postoperative pain can be expected given the required laparotomy and extensive abdominal wall manipulation. Both systemic opioids and thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) are viable postoperative analgesic options, and both are commonly utilized.