:: Section 2
Advantages and Disadvantages
Medicine can be administered to the human body in many ways. So, why are we using the inhaler in therapy? There are several advantages, including
- Smaller aerosol doses than those for
systemic treatment
- Medicine will not be wasted by the digestive system
- Rapid onset of drug action
- Medicine does not need to pass though the digestive system and the
circulatory system to reach its target
- Drug delivery is targeted to the respiratory
system for local pulmonary effect
- Medicine goes to the target directly
- Systemic side effects are fewer and less severe than with oral
parenteral therapy
- Most medicine stays in the target
-
The lung can serve a portal to the body for inhaled aerosol agents
intended for systemic effect, e.g., pain control, insulin
- This is an alternative for therapy
Meanwhile, there are also limitations and disadvantages of a inhaler that we should be aware of
- There are many variables that affect the dose of aerosol drug delivered
to the airways, and the compounding effects make dose estimation and dose
reproducibility very difficult.
- Determination of the true dose to target part is very difficult. Many factors can affect the dose estimation. For example, the
respiratory flow rate.
- There are not enough physicians, nurses and therapists who are knowledgeable of
device use and administration protocols
- Patients need professional guidance how to properly use use the device.
- Practitioners do not have sufficient standardized technical information of aerosol producing devices
- Standardized technical information should be made available easily
- Practitioners can be confused by the number of device types and variability of use.
- Although there are many inhalers well developed, all of them have their
own functions and operate procedures. The knowledge of one device does not warrant the knowledge of the other.
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