Review of Safety and Efficacy of Inhaled Medications Conducted by American Researchers

A team of American researchers have published a review of the safety and efficacy of inhaled drug delivery methods, including aerosol delivery of drugs that is commonly used to provide antibiotics, diuretics and anticoagulants for patients in the ICU. The review has been published in the Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery.

The article is available free online on the Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery website.

Arzu Ari, PhD, RRT and James Fink, PhD, RRT, Georgia State University (Atlanta) and Rajiv Dhand, MD, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine (Knoxville) state that the successful use of bronchodilator therapy in ventilator-dependent patients has led to growing interest in the delivery of other aerosolized forms of medication to improve outcomes for patients in the ICU that require mechanical ventilation. In the article "Inhalation Therapy in Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation: An Update," the authors explore the complexities of aerosol therapy in this patient population and the advances in drug delivery devices that are contributing to its increasing use and success.

"Newer drugs, such as antibiotics, will require better control of dose and delivery if they are to be successful in treating the intubated patient." says Editor-in-Chief Gerald C. Smaldone, MD, PhD, Professor and Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at SUNY-Stony Brook.



Source: Eurekalert