Respiratory care
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Ribavirin is an antiviral drug that for many years has been administered to the lungs by aerosolization. Despite advancements in oral delivery routes, there has been a renewed interested in delivering ribavirin via the pulmonary system in select patients and the severely ill. The vibrating mesh nebulizer was previously demonstrated to be an effective alternative to the small-particle aerosol generator in particle size, chemical makeup, and concentrations of the ribavirin before and after nebulization. However, the antiviral activity of ribavirin has never been examined. We sought to study ribavirin's activity before and after nebulization via vibrating mesh nebulizer. ⋯ The vibrating mesh nebulizer did not affect the antiviral properties of nebulized ribavirin when compared to non-nebulized drug. Our findings add supporting evidence for the use of the vibrating mesh nebulizer in the administration of inhaled ribavirin.
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Allowing the ventilated adult patient to breathe spontaneously may improve tidal volume (VT) distribution toward the dependent lung regions, reduce shunt fraction, and decrease dead space. It has not been studied if these effects under various levels of ventilatory support also occur in children. We sought to explore the effect of level of ventilatory support on VT distribution and end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) in spontaneously breathing ventilated children in the recovery phase of their acute respiratory failure. ⋯ Our data showed that allowing ventilated children in the recovery phase of respiratory failure to breathe spontaneously in a continuous spontaneous ventilation mode did not negatively affect VT distribution or EELV.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Inhaled Salbutamol on Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn: A Clinical Trial.
One of the most common causes of respiratory distress in newborns is transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN). Salbutamol is often suggested to increase the rate of pulmonary fluid absorption in newborns with TTN. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of inhaled salbutamol in TTN management. ⋯ The study results indicated that inhaled salbutamol significantly decreased the TTN clinical score, oxygen demands, and duration of respiratory support, whereas there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of LOS.