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.