Generic Proventil

Generic Proventil (also known as salbutamol, or albuterol) a short-acting β₂ adrenergic receptor agonist that opens up the medium and large airways in the lungs.

What is Proventil used to treat?

Most often, the drug is prescribed to treat bronchial asthma since it helps both prevent bronchospasm and stop this symptom when it has already occurred. This medication can be one of the drugs used for long-term maintenance treatment of patients with bronchial asthma.

In addition, inhalations with albuterol are used for other chronic pathologies in which there is a reversible obstruction of the respiratory tract, for example, in chronic bronchitis or pulmonary emphysema.

Sometimes doctors prescribe this medication for laryngitis, however, many experts believe that such a disease and its complications (false croup) should not be treated with bronchodilator drugs since they act on the bronchi and are ineffective for inflammation of the larynx.

How does it work?

The active ingredient of the drug, salbutamol or albuterol, relaxes the smooth muscles of the bronchi. Due to this, the spasm stops. Salbutamol activates the transmembrane enzyme adenylate cyclase in cells, as well as promotes an increase in the synthesis of cyclic 3′-5′-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). This activates protein kinase A, which regulates the intensity of the processes associated with an intracellular energy exchange of phosphorylation of myosin, which is a contractile protein of smooth muscle fiber cells. In this case, a drop in the concentration of positively charged calcium ions occurs in the cells. As a result, the smooth muscles of the entire respiratory system relax, and the lumen in the airways expands. An increase in the concentration of cAMP inhibits the release of mediators (we are talking about prostaglandins, IgE, histamine) from mast cells. Due to which salbutamol is able to relieve bronchial edema, reduce inflammation, and increase mucociliary clearance.

When the drug is inhaled in aerosol form or during inhalation with a solution, only a quarter of the dose is in the bronchi and lungs, the rest is retained on the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract. However, this is enough for Proventil to cause a bronchodilatory effect within a quarter of an hour, the duration of which will last up to five hours. The active substance tends to penetrate the bloodstream. The average peak plasma concentration is 3 ng / ml in the case of an aerosol form of the medication containing the propellant HFA 134a. Salbutamol under the influence of liver enzymes is transformed into phenolic compounds of sulfuric acid, excreted mostly by the kidneys. The body is cleared of metabolites after one inhalation with this medicine for three days. They come out in urine and feces.

Is Proventil a rescue inhaler?

Yes. Salbutamol is considered a rescue inhaler, which means that it is used to relax muscles in the lungs and keep open airways during a sudden asthma attack.

How quickly does it work?

The usual dose of Proventil is 2 inhalations every 4-6 hours. To prevent exercise-induced bronchospasm, patients use 2 inhalations 15-30 minutes before they exercise. The effects of albuterol last about 4-6 hours.

Contraindications

Do not use Proventil if you have any of the following conditions:

• hypersensitivity to the components of the medication;
• pregnancy with the threat of failure;
• children’s age under 2 years;
• use of non-selective β-blockers.

Use the medication with caution in the following cases:

• heart disorders (such as tachyarrhythmia, acute and chronic myocarditis, defect, ischemia, severe insufficiency);
• arterial hypertension;
• thyrotoxicosis;
• pheochromocytoma;
• diabetes mellitus;
• glaucoma;
• predisposition to epileptic manifestations;
• renal or hepatic failure;
• pregnancy and lactation.

Are Ventolin and Proventil the same?

Ventolin is another name for Proventil. The drugs have the same approved uses. They’re both used to prevent and treat bronchospasm in patients with asthma and to prevent exercise-induced bronchospasm.

Which is better Proventil or Ventolin? The first product is 2.5 times more economical than the latter with a VHC and 1.6 times without a VHC.

Dosage recommendations

The medicine is used exclusively for inhalation therapy.

The standard single dose of the drug that is sprayed by the nebulizer is 2.5 mg. The maximum dosage should not exceed 5 mg. No more than four sessions are recommended per day. With a severe obstructive process in the respiratory tract, patients can increase the average daily dosage by 6-8 times and increase the number of procedures. Do not change the dosage and frequency of inhalation without consulting a doctor.

A single dosage of a medication for children is no more than two sprays at a time.

What are the side effects of Proventil?

The use of salbutamol medicine can provoke:

• headaches;
• irritation of the mucous membrane of the oropharynx;
• increased heart rate;
• tremor.

In rare cases, the drug causes allergies (for example, urticaria or angioedema), hypokalemia, hyperactivity, heart rhythm disturbances, peripheral vasodilation, or muscle cramps. In some patients, it may cause a paradoxical reaction, in which bronchospasm increases.

How to use Proventil?

The medicine is used exclusively for inhalation, during which the medicine is inhaled through the mouth. For small children, medication is administered using a special device (called a spacer), which has a face mask. When the inhaler is used for the first time or the last use of the drug was more than five days ago, it is recommended to remove the cap, shake the can and make 2 sprays of the drug in the air.

For inhalation, follow the below steps:

1. Remove the cap;
2. Check all parts of the can and mouthpiece to make sure there are no foreign objects;
3. Shake the inhaler (this will mix its contents evenly);
4. Holding the balloon upside down, invite the child to exhale as much as possible;
5. Place the mouthpiece in the little patient’s mouth and tell the child to cover it with his lips, but not touch it with his teeth;
6. During a deep breath, press on the top of the cartridge so that one dose of the medicine enters the respiratory tract;
7. Tell the child to hold breath;
8. Remove the mouthpiece from your mouth.
9. If another dose is required, repeat all steps after 30 seconds.
10. Close the tip with the cap.

Can I overdose on this medicine?

A dose of salbutamol can cause the following symptoms associated with the stimulation of beta-adrenergic receptors:

• Decreased blood pressure;
• Rapid pulse;
• Nausea;
• Trembling muscles;
• Vomiting.

A very high dose of the drug provokes hypokalemia, as well as metabolic acidosis.

Can I use Proventil when pregnant or breastfeeding?

When carrying a fetus, this medication is prescribed only when the expected therapeutic benefit for a woman exceeds the potential risks for a baby in her womb. The medication can have a negative effect on the unborn child. There is information about cases of fetal pathologies (for example, “cleft palate” and anomalies in the development of the limbs) that have arisen after salbutamol during pregnancy. In most cases, the therapy was complex: in addition to this drug, the women also took other drugs. Statistics speak of the indicator of the background incidence of pathologies of congenital origin, equal to 2-3%. However, the official causal relationship between this drug and pathologies in the fetus has not been established.

Salbutamol tends to penetrate into the milk of a woman, which is why it is not recommended to prescribe durgs based on it during lactation. It is prescribed in especially difficult situations, but they are associated with a possible risk for the baby. There is no official information that salbutamol can have a harmful effect on an infant.

Use in children

Proventil cannot be used to treat babies under the age of 18 months due to the lack of clinical research results on its use for this age group of patients. For children between 4 and 11 years of age, the doctor will prescribe the usual starting dose of salbutamol for inhalation (2.5 mg). In special cases, it is possible to use 5 mg of the medication. It is recommended to carry out inhalation sessions up to 4 times a day. For a child under the age of 4, other medicinal forms of medication are used. For adolescents from the age of 12, the dosage is the same as that prescribed for adults.

Features of use with other drugs

Proventil is not used together with non-selective β-adrenergic receptor blockers (for example, Propranolol). This medication is not combined with Theophylline and other xanthines, as this threatens the patient with tachyarrhythmia.

Salbutamol is not compatible with drugs used as inhalation anesthesia, for example, Levodopa. This combination can cause severe ventricular arrhythmia. The combined use of salbutamol with an anticholinergic drug is unacceptable since such a combination leads to increased intraocular pressure.

The combination of salbutamol with diuretics and glucocorticosteroids for inhalation (hormonal drugs such as Pulmicort) leads to an increase in the hypokalemic effect of salbutamol. This medication can be used simultaneously with monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

In the treatment of bronchitis, the medicine is combined with antibiotics, antiviral drugs, expectorant drugs, and vitamin complexes.

How to store this drug?

It is recommended to store the drug at a temperature not exceeding 30°C. Avoid exposure to sunlight. Do not keep in refrigerator and freezer conditions. The medicine should not be available to children. The drug has a shelf life of two years. Do not use expired medication.