Aerosol therapy in bronchopulmonary disease. A critical evaluation.
AEROSOL THERAPY HAS THREE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES: Mobilization of bronchial secretions, relief of bronchospasm and topical chemotherapy. It has become an important tool in the treatment of bronchopulmonary diseases. The equipment for inhalation therapy, however, should be adequate. Both large-capacity and small-capacity nebulizers must be available, and they must be the kind that will produce a mist with most of its particles only 0.5 to 2.5 micra in diameter. These nebulizers may be used alone or in conjunction with a variety of appliances that will deliver the aerosols to the respiratory tract. The use of humidifying agents as aerosols is extremely helpful in patients with retained bronchopulmonary secretions. In some patients who have particularly thick or gelatinous secretions and in patients with mucoviscidosis, ordinary water or saline solution is often not enough. Hypertonic saline may be of value in these cases, and it is suggested that half-molar (2.9 per cent) saline be administered in 10 per cent propylene glycol. In these cases, preparations containing detergents (tyloxypal) or other preparations containing enzymes (desoxyribonuclease or trypsin) may be given by the aerosol technique, with care not to cause irritation. The bronchodilator aerosol agents are of proved benefit in the treatment of bronchospastic disorders and are indicated in most cases of asthma and in those cases of emphysema in which there is definite evidence of associated bronchospasm. The value of the aerosol method of administering chemotherapeutic and antibiotic drugs has probably been overrated, and it is suspected that much of the benefit previously attributed to the therapeutic agent was actually a result of humidification and liquefaction.
D000336:Aerosols / Q000628:therapy*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001249:Asthma; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis; D006801:Humans; D009330:Nebulizers and Vaporizers; D012137:Respiratory System; D012138:Respiratory Therapy; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic
D000336:Aerosols; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic
AEROSOLS/therapy; RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS/therapy