title: Clinical evaluation of a simple demand inhalation MDI aerosol delivery device.
abstract: Inhalation of medication is the preferred method for treating reversible airway obstruction; however, difficulties in the use of pressurized canisters frequently lead to suboptimal results. The Aerochamber (Monoghan Medical Corp) is a portable breath-actuated device that attaches to a metered-dose inhaler (MDI) and is designed to overcome many of the problems of aerosol delivery encountered by some patients. The attachment of this breath-actuated device to an MDI reduced pharyngeal deposition of aerosol 14-fold, but delivery of aerosol to intrapulmonary airways in normal subjects and patients with bronchitis remained unchanged. In a group of nine patients with stable asthma, inhalation of a bronchodilator aerosol using the breath-actuated device (Aerochamber) achieved effective bronchodilation similar to an optimally administered MDI. Advantages of the breath-actuated device (Aerochamber) include (1) aerosol delivery of medication whether or not the discharge of aerosol is synchronized with inhalation, (2) effective therapeutic response compared with optimally administered MDI; (3) greatly reduced deposition of aerosol in the upper airways, which might be expected to reduce adverse effects of steroids; and (4) universal application to all bronchodilator and steroid MDIs.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000336:Aerosols; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001980:Bronchi / Q000187:drug effects; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004983:Ethanolamines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005280:Fenoterol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011897:Random Allocation; D012138:Respiratory Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D004983:Ethanolamines; D005280:Fenoterol