Abstract

Aerosolized medications are commonly used for the treatment of patients with pulmonary diseases in acute care. While there are many drug/device combinations available on the market, new devices have been developed in the past few years. Due to differences in their operation, performance and requirements for proper use, it is important to know how to use these aerosol devices effectively during inhalation therapy both in ambulatory and acute settings. However, clinicians focus on the drug formulation and a relatively little effort was made in improving the design of aerosol devices and individualizing inhalation therapy in acute and critically ill patients. Therefore, this paper reviews aerosol devices used for the treatment of patients with an emphasis on acute and critical care.

Keywords: Aerosols, nebulizers, metered dose inhalers, dry powder inhalers, mechanical ventilation, and inhalation therapy.