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This news item is more than a year old. Links, graphics, content, medical information, and statistics may be out of date. We invite you to search, visit our homepage, or contact us to find more current information on the topic you're looking for.Sep. 23, 2004. 06:09 AM
Steroids help mild croup
Barking cough is tough on families
Study shows fast dose shortens illness
By Tanya Talaga, Health Policy Reporter, Toronto Star
By quickly administering a steroid to a young child suffering from the seal-like barking cough of croup, doctors can shorten the illness and cut down on return visits to the doctor's office, a new study shows.
After studying 720 children with mild croup in four children's hospitals around the country, Dr. David Johnson, associate professor of paediatrics and pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of Calgary, says children with mild croup who are treated with steroids recover more quickly from the illness.
Reference article:
A Randomized Trial of a Single Dose of Oral Dexamethasone for Mild Croup
Candice L. Bjornson, Terry P. Klassen, Janielee Williamson, Rollin Brant, Craig Mitton, Amy PlintBlake Bulloch, Lisa Evered, David W. Johnson, for the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada Network
New England Journal of Medicine, Number 13, Volume 351:1306-1313,September, 2004