Clinical efficacy and safety of fluticasone/salmeterol inhalation powder combined with huaiqihuang granules in the treatment of children with cough variant asthma.

This study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of fluticasone/ salmeterol inhalation powder plus Huaiqihuang Granules for children with cough variant asthma (CVA). From June 2019 to May 2021, 60 children with CVA were hospitalized to the Pediatrics Department of Cangzhou Central Hospital and randomized to the observation (fluticasone/salmeterol inhalation powder plus huaiqihuang granules) and control group (fluticasone/salmeterol inhalation powder) using the random number table method. The outcome measures include clinical efficacy, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume per second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow (PEF), FeNO, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-23, airway anatomical indicators and T lymphocyte subsets levels. Both groups exhibited remarkable improvements in FVC, FEV1, PEF and FeNO and hs-CRP, IL-17 and IL-23, with higher FVC, FEV1 and PEF and lower FeNO, hs-CRP, IL-17 and IL-23 in the observation group (all P<0.05). Significantly higher levels of CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ were observed in the observation group versus control group, but lower airway wall thickness, basement membrane thickness, total airway wall area and CD8+ in the observation group (all P<0.05). Fluticasone/salmeterol inhalation powder plus Huaiqihuang Granules improves lung function, FeNO and airway inflammation in children with CVA and boosts cellular and humoral immune function.