Conclusions
Incidence of PEAO has got significantly reduced in our unit during the last decade. Though the study was not powered enough, it showed non-inferiority of multi-dose 24h pretreatment with the low dose (0.25mg/kg/dose) dexamethasone compared to the high dose (0.5mg/kg/dose) regime in preventing PEAO and reintubation in the studied clinical setting. Intubation for more than 7 days continues to be an independent risk factor, where high dose seems to show a beneficial trend. Multicentric trials involving PICUs from LMICs experiencing high incidence of PEAO with larger sample size among children at high risk are needed.