A new review article, published in the Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, looks at the efficacy and safety of aerosol delivery of drugs commonly used in the intensive care unit (ICU) such as antibiotics, diuretics, and anticoagulants to patients requiring mechanical ventilation.

Arzu Ari, PhD, RRT, and James Fink, PhD, RRT, Georgia State University, and Rajiv Dhand, MD, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, write 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 Gerald C. Smaldone, MD, PhD, editor-in-chief of the journal and professor and chief of the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at SUNY-Stony Brook.

Source: Mary Ann Liebert Inc/Genetic Engineering News