airway pharmacology refers to the deliverance of aerosol medications to the respiratory
tract of the lungs as a respiratory therapist this is an important topic for the treatment
and diagnosis of certain pulmonary diseases we created this video to cover the medical
definition and provide a brief overview of this topic so if you're ready let's get into it
when it comes to airway pharmacology there are several drug classes to be familiar with here
is a list of the most common types of aerosolized medications that are administered in respiratory
care beta agonist bronchodilators anticholinergic bronchodilators mucolytic agents corticosteroids
non-steroidal anti-asthma drugs anti-infective agents and inhaled pulmonary vasodilators
beta-2 adrenergic bronchodilators are a class of drugs that cause the smooth muscles of the airways
to relax which is why they are effective in treating conditions that cause acute bronchospasm
anticholinergic bronchodilators act on the parasympathetic nervous system and block the
mechanism of action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine which also promotes relaxation
of the smooth muscles in the airways both beta agonist and anticholinergic agents are used to
treat patients with obstructive conditions such as asthma chronic bronchitis and copd
mucolytic agents are a class of drugs that help control copious amounts of thick secretions that
are common in respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis
inhaled corticosteroids are a class of drugs that have anti-inflammatory effects on the airways
they are considered to be maintenance or controller medications because they work by
decreasing inflammation seen in obstructive diseases with that said they are not to be
used during an acute attack or exacerbation because they do not provide immediate relief
non-steroidal anti-asthma agents are a class of drugs that are administered for the prophylactic
management of asthma this means that they are also controller medications that should not be given
during an acute attack because they do not provide immediate relief either anti-infective agents are
a class of drugs that work to inhibit the spread of infections by eliminating potentially harmful
organisms this includes antiviral anti-fungal and anti-tuberculosis agents and last but not least
inhaled pulmonary vasodilators are a class of inhaled aerosol medications that are administered
to treat pulmonary hypertension the most common type is ino which stands for inhaled nitric oxide
we've covered each of these drugs in much more detail in other videos on our channel and in the
free study guides on our website so definitely check those out if you want to learn more
again for this video we just wanted to provide you with a brief overview of this topic real quick
guys do me a huge favor and hit the like button it really helps support the channel and i greatly
greatly appreciate it and while you're down there go ahead and click the subscribe button as well
because we have a ton of other videos on our channel that i think you will enjoy just a quick
reminder we are not doctors this video is for educational and informational purposes only and if
you want to dive deeper and learn more about this topic you can go to respiratorytherapyzone.com
where we have a ton of free study guides practice questions and other helpful resources
i'll drop links to everything you need right below this video down in the description thank you so
much for watching all the way to the end have a blessed day and as always real easy my friends
you