Nocturnal asthma: effects of slow-release terbutaline on spirometry and arterial blood-gases.

The effect of terbutaline, in a slow-release preparation, on spirometry and arterial blood-gases, was studied in fourteen patients with nocturnal asthma. The patients were treated with either 15 mg of slow-release terbutaline or placebo given as a single dose at 10 pm for eight days in a double-blind crossover trial. The patients were studied in the hospital for one night at the end of each treatment period. During active treatment the patients had a significantly higher FEV1 and PaO2 compared with placebo. Tolerance to the high single dose was good and none of the patients discontinued treatment because of side-effects. In patients with nocturnal asthma treatment with a high dose of slow-release terbutaline given as a single dose in the evening appears to be effective.