Camel milk in asthmatic children: a double blind randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Asthma is one of the prevalent diseases in children. There is some evidence regarding benefits of camel milk in asthma. Present study was carried out evaluating the effect of camel milk in asthmatic children. A randomized double blind clinical trial was operated between 2018 and 2019 in a tertiary center. Sixty children aged more than 6 years with not well control asthma were included. Intervention was consist of 200 milliliter camel milk or placebo daily for 2 months. Spirometry parameters and medication regimen were assessed before and after intervention. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. A total of 57 patients completed the trial. Patients were similar in demographic and baseline characteristics (p > 0.05). There was a significant difference between groups after intervention in use of inhaled corticosteroids (96.7% versus 70.4%, p value = 0.01), short acting beta agonists (53.3% versus 29.6%, p value = 0.0001) and long acting beta agonists (53.3% versus 40.7%, p value = 0.04) in control and intervention respectively. The percent of changes in forced expiratory volume (FEV1) in control and intervention groups was 18.54 ± 14.89 and 21.89 ± 17.83 respectively (p = 0.14). The percent of changes in FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) in control and intervention groups was 8.11 ± 7.12 and 11.11 ± 8.33 respectively (p = 0.14). Conclusion: Camel milk leads to significant decrease in inhaled corticosteroids, short acting beta agonists and long acting beta agonist's use, surprisingly. It was suggested that camel milk is added to pharmacological treatment of asthmatic children after more studies.