Paper
Changes in heart rate associated with nebulized racemic albuterol and levalbuterol in intensive care patients.
Published Oct 1, 2003 · Sum Lam, Julie L. Chen
American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
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Abstract
The effects of equipotent doses of racemic albuterol and levalbuterol on heart rate (HR) in intensive care patients with and without baseline tachycardia were studied. Patients were included if they were hemodynamically stable and required bronchodilator therapy every four hours; patients were excluded if they were maintained on a beta-blocker. Four hours after the most recent bronchodilator treatment, each patient was randomized to receive at least two consecutive doses of albuterol 2.5 mg or levalbuterol 1.25 mg four hours apart via nebulization. HR was recorded at the end of the second dose and 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 minutes after treatment. Twenty intensive care patients, including 10 with baseline tachycardia and 10 without baseline tachycardia, were enrolled. In patients with baseline tachycardia, the mean largest HR increase was 1.4 beats/min (1.3%) with albuterol and 2.0 beats/min (2.1%) with levalbuterol (both increases were not significant). In patients without baseline tachycardia, the mean largest HR increase was 4.4 beats/min (6.7%) with albuterol (p = 0.04) and 3.6 beats/min (5.0%) with levalbuterol (p = 0.03). Short-term use of nebulized albuterol and levalbuterol was associated with similar changes in HR in intensive care patients with or without baseline tachycardia.
RCTNebulized albuterol and levalbuterol both cause similar short-term increases in heart rate in intensive care patients with or without baseline tachycardia.
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