the central mg ios dn bfg

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wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing. Some side effects of this drug are

headaches, fever, or muscle pain. Salmeterol is used in combination with other drugs for the long

term control of asthma, it may also be used to prevent breathing issues in those with nocturnal

asthma or exercise related breathing problems. This drug works by widening the airways in the

lungs allowing patients to breathe more easily. Salmeterol or Serevent Diskus currently only

appears in the form of a DPI. Never prescribe salmeterol in large doses because of the risk of

very serious heart problems such as irregular heartbeat, salmeterol may not be the best option for

diabetics because it can negatively affect blood sugar. Arformoterol or Brovana is a long acting

adrenergic bronchodilator used in the treatment of chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Brovana

is administered by a SVN and should be given twice a day, 12 hours apart. Brovana cannot be

used to treat sudden COPD attacks, but instead controls symptoms of COPD. Although your

patient may try to convince you that the drug has cured their disease this is not the result.

Brovana like the former drugs opens up the airways allowing easier breathing.

A sympathomimetic drug causes stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system by

mimicking the actions of epinephrine which can cause tachycardia, elevated blood pressure, and

smooth muscle relaxation of bronchioles. Examples of sympathomimetic drugs are Formoterol

and Pirbuterol. Formoterol is a long acting drug used for the maintenance of bronchodilation, and

control of bronchospasm. Formoterol is only prescribed if a patientsasthma is so severe that two

medications will be needed to control it. Formoterol helps to prevent an asthma or COPD attack

but will not stop an attack that has already begun. Pirbuterol is used to treat wheezing and

shortness of breath occurring with asthma and COPD. This drug comes in the form of an inhaler

which allows the drug to reach far into the lungs for the most possible benefit. Pirbuterol will not


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and should not be prescribed if the patient is using another short acting sympathomimetic

bronchodilator such as Albuterol.

A parasympatholytic drug is a drug that blocks the parasympathetic nervous fibers. These

drugs work to treat bradycardias, bradydysrhythmias and treat illnesses causing the bronchioles

to constrict such as asthma. A drug falling under the parasympatholytic classification is

Tiotropium bromide. Tiotropium bromide or Spiriva is a long acting 24 hour bronchodilator used

to control the symptoms of COPD. Spiriva can reduce COPD flare-ups due to the improvement

of lung function from opening the airways. Spiriva is not a rescue inhaler and should not be used

as one; however patients who use Spiriva have been shown to use their rescue inhalers less often.

Since Spiriva appears in a powder form, be sure to warn patients of the possible side effect of

blurred vision or temporary blindness should the medication contaminate the eye.

It is important to know the understand why certain drugs should not be used in a patient,

for example, a patient may be admitted who is suffering from an asthma attack and also has

retained secretions, in a situation such as this a parasympatholytic drug should not be

administered because parasympatholytic drugs have been found to dry secretions, even though

they will offer bronchodilation. Be sure to check patient charts before blindly administering a

drug, our job is to support the patient during their time of need, and to help them return to normal

function, or at least their normal. Understanding the nervous system in correlation to respiratory

care based on the control mechanisms and physiological effects will form the basis for

knowledge of drug actions and drug effects of drugs that we one day will be asked to administer

or recommend for a patient.

the central mg ios dn bfg

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