Bambuterol tablets, 10 and 20 mg, and
terbutaline CR-
tablets, 5 and 7.5 mg, have been compared for their capacity to produce subjectively determined
tremor in a randomised, double-blind, cross-over study in 40 healthy volunteers. The duration of each treatment was one week, with an intervening washout period of at least 2 weeks. On the second and the last treatment days in each period,
tremor was subjectively assessed on six occasions. In addition, an overall assessment of night and day
tremor was made each morning and evening. Analyses were made for the second and last treatment days and during the treatment week. Paired comparisons for
tremor during daytime showed a significant difference between the treatments, with the exception of
bambuterol 20 mg and
terbutaline 5 mg.
Bambuterol 10 mg caused less
tremor and
terbutaline 7.5 mg caused more
tremor than the other treatments. At the end of the week, the differences were smaller and were only significant when comparing
bambuterol 10 mg with the 20 mg dose and with high dose
terbutaline.
Terbutaline 7.5 mg caused more
tremor at night than the other treatments. The
tremor experienced was generally mild, and after
bambuterol 10 mg it was almost negligible (mean 0.13 after the first dose). Two subjects recorded a score of 3 after
terbutaline 7.5 mg. The results indicate that, in doses equipotent with regard to bronchodilation,
tremor is less pronounced after
bambuterol as compared to controlled release
tablets of
terbutaline.