Respiratory care
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Administration of medications via aerosolization is potentially an ideal strategy to treat airway diseases. This delivery method ensures high concentrations of the medication in the targeted tissues, the airways, with generally lower systemic absorption and systemic adverse effects. ⋯ It has been hypothesized that similar success would be seen in NCFB and in difficult-to-treat hospital-acquired infections such as VAP. This review summarizes the available evidence supporting the use of aerosolized antibiotics and addresses the specific considerations that clinicians should recognize when prescribing an aerosolized antibiotic for patients with CF, NCFB, and VAP.
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The inhaled route has a number of attractive features for treatment of pulmonary hypertension, including delivery of drug directly to the target organ, thus enhancing pulmonary specificity and reducing systemic adverse effects. It can also improve ventilation/perfusion matching by dilating vessels supplying ventilated regions, thus improving gas exchange. Furthermore, it can achieve higher local drug concentrations at a lower overall dose, potentially reducing drug cost. ⋯ It is also used off-label to test acute vasoreactivity in PAH during right-heart catheterization and to treat acute right-heart failure in hospitalized patients. In addition, some studies on long-term application of INO either have been recently completed with results pending or are under consideration. In the future, because of its inherent advantages in targeting the lung, the inhaled route is likely to be tested using a variety of small molecules that show promise as PAH therapies.
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Pediatric patients are different from adult patients with respect to airway anatomy and breathing patterns. They are also incapable of following commands and often reject breathing treatments. ⋯ This review highlights research related to pediatric nebulizer and interface devices and how they can be used to provide the safest and most efficient treatments with the array of treatment delivery options. Also addressed are clinical controversies and debates in pediatric aerosol science, including drug delivery in crying versus resting infants, pressurized metered-dose inhalers and small-volume nebulizers for bronchodilator administration, continuous nebulization, noninvasive drug delivery options, and optimization of nebulizer performance during infant and large pediatric conventional and high-frequency ventilation.