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Pharmacological Effects of Bronchodilators in the Management of COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, better known by its acronym COPD, is an
obstructive lung disease. Patients suffering from the disease experience poor airflow and other
long term breathing problems. These problems exhibit themselves through symptoms such as
coughing and breath shortness. Given the fact that the disease gets worse with time, it is
important that patients who have been diagnosed with it embark on its management as soon as
possible.

There are multiple methods to manage the disease. One of them is the use of medications.
Medications treat both the complications of the disease and its symptoms. Bronchodilators are
some of the most widely used medications for COPD. When inhaled, they relax airways’
muscles thus relieving the patient some of the symptoms of the disease such as breathing
difficulties, shortness of breath, and coughing (Di Marco et al., 2017).

Bronchodilators can either be short acting or long acting. Short acting bronchodilators are
usually taken before activities. They include ipratropium, levalbuterol, and albuterol. If ones
condition is severe then they may need to use long acting bronchodilators. These are often taken
on a daily basis. They include indacaterol, formoterol, tiotropium, and arformoterol (Di Marco et
al., 2017).

Even though the drugs are largely effective, they need to be administered in a responsible
manner to prevent the patient from suffering from their side effects or complicating treatment of
their other ailments, if they have them. First, before administering to a patient it is important to
check whether they are allergic to the drug (Ali, 2016). In addition, caution should also be taken

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when administering the drugs to patients who have cardiac problems because the drugs stimulate
beta receptors which may worsen their condition (Ali, 2016). Precaution should also be taken
when the bronchodilators are being taken with other inhaled drugs. In such cases,
bronchodilators should be taken first. Then after five minutes the patient can take the other
inhaled drug. Taking bronchodilators first allows them to open up the airways thus allowing the
second inhaled drug to be more effective (Ali, 2016). Lastly, after administering the drugs the
patient should be monitored for possible side effects. Such side effects include chest pains and
tremors (Ali, 2016). If the inhalation was done correctly these side effects should be very
minimal.

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References

Ali, L. (2016). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) action plan: Nursing
intervention and patient readmission (Doctoral dissertation, University of La Verne).

Di Marco, F., Santus, P., Scichilone, N., Solidoro, P., Contoli, M., Braido, F., & Corsico, A. G.
(2017). Symptom variability and control in COPD: Advantages of dual bronchodilation
therapy. Respiratory medicine, 125, 49-56.