The pharmacologic approach to airway clearance: mucoactive agents.
The term "mucoactive agent" refers to any medication used to improve the clearance of airway secretions. It is not synonymous with the word "mucolytic" as this strictly means a drug that decreases the viscosity of secretions. In many cases, decreased viscosity will adversely affect cough transport. For this reason many of the older mucolytic agents such as acetylcysteine are not effective for the therapy of lung disease and their use is not recommended. I review here the many classes of mucoactive agents and identify a number of medications with great promise for the treatment of chronic airway disease.
Rubin
Bruce K
BK
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1081, USA. brubin@wfubmc.edu
D005100:Expectorants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009079:Mucociliary Clearance / Q000187:drug effects*; D009093:Mucus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D005100:Expectorants