Comparison of the Effects of Beclomethasone Dipropionate and Budesonide in the Treatment of Children with Mild, Persistent Asthma

Objective To compare the mean change in peak expiratory flow values in children receiving inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate versus inhaled budesonide in the treatment of mild persistent asthma. Method The medical records of 60 patients from the outpatient department (OPD)/emergency room (ER), National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, who received beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) 200 µg one puff and budesonide (BUD) 200 µg one puff twice a day for treatment of mild persistent asthma from March 10, 2020, to August 10, 2020, were explored. Results The mean age of children was 10.56 ± 3.01 years in the BUD group and 10.05 ± 3.54 years in the BDP group. The mean change in peak expiratory flow % in the BUD group was 15.69 ± 3.59%, and in the BDP group, it was 13.59 ± 4.26% (P-value=0.04) Conclusion BDP and budesonide (BUD) were both found to be effective for the treatment of mild persistent asthma in children. However, we found that BUD had better efficacy compared to BDP.