Childhood
pneumonia, often caused by acute
upper respiratory tract infections or
bronchitis, is one of the leading causes of mortality in children. Nebulized inhalation, as a low-risk treatment method, has garnered significant attention. However, its effectiveness and safety remain controversial. In this study, a systematic review of relevant literature on the use of
budesonide (BUD) and
ambroxol hydrochloride (AMB) inhalation in the treatment of childhood
pneumonia was conducted, and a total of 10 articles were included. The meta-analysis revealed an odds ratio (OR) of 1.61 and an I2 value of 0.00 % for the effectiveness of combined BUD and AMB
inhalation therapy in children with
pneumonia, indicating no heterogeneity among the studies in terms of effectiveness. The OR values for BUD or AMB inhalation in alleviating
cough, lung auscultation abnormalities, respiratory distress, body temperature, and
cyanosis of the lips in children with
pneumonia all favored the combined BUD
therapy, showing significant relief of the aforementioned symptoms. However, due to variations in
drug dosage and administration methods, high heterogeneity was observed. This study suggested that combined BUD and AMB
inhalation therapy has better efficacy in treating childhood
pneumonia, and BUD combined with AMB inhalation is more effective in alleviating symptoms such as
cough, lung auscultation abnormalities, respiratory distress, normalizing body temperature, and reducing
cyanosis of the lips. Nevertheless, further validation is required due to the limited sample size and substantial heterogeneity in the included studies. To sum up, this study provides the first analysis of the efficacy and inflammatory response of BUD and AMB inhalation in children with
pneumonia. Future research should aim to verify and clarify these findings, considering the limitations of the existing studies in terms of sample size and heterogeneity.