Efficacy and safety of levocetirizine dihydrochloride in the treatment of pediatric asthmatic diseases

Objective To explore the safety and efficacy of levocetirizine dihydrochloride in the treatment of pediatric asthmatic diseases. Methods From March 2021 to December 2023, 200 pediatric patients with asthmatic diseases who were hospitalized in the Department of Pediatrics at Nanjing Jiangbei Hospital were randomly divided into two groups using a random number table, with 100 cases in each group. Both groups received anti.infection therapy, pulmonary physio-therapy, and symptomatic supportive treatment. The experimental group was treated with levocetirizine dihydrochloride oral solution, while the control group received a 5% glucose oral solution as a placebo. The efficacy, cough and wheezing symptom scores, pulmonary sign scores, chest X.ray recovery rates, and the incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results After 7 days of treatment, the total effective rate in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (96.00% vs 81.00%, χ 2=11.054,P<0.01) . The scores of wheezing symptoms and dry rales in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group at 1day, 2 days and the end of treatment (P＜0.05) . There was no statistically significant difference in the chest X.ray recovery rate between the two groups (P>0.05) . The hospital stay of the experimental group was shorter than that of the control group［ (5.99±0.99) days vs 5.18±0.99) days, t=5.785,P<0.01］. Both groups had no serious adverse events. Conclusion Levocetirizine dihydrochloride has a good efficacy in treating pediatric asthmatic diseases, significantly improving cough and wheezing symptoms in children, and demonstrating good clinical safety.