Salbutamol output from two jet nebulizers

Nebulized bronchodilators are commonly used in the management of patients with airflow obstruction, although there is little information available on the bronchodilator output from the nebulizer unit. We have examined the fluid and salbutamol outputs of a single jet nebulizer from two commercial manufacturers at 1 min intervals up to 12 min. The drug and fluid output continued throughout the study period, with a greater fluid output leading to an increase in the concentration of salbutamol remaining within the nebulizer unit. This suggests that weight change is not a good indicator of drug output. Furthermore, there was a marked difference in peak salbutamol output between the two nebulizer units, being 2.9 mg (55%) with the Micro-Neb unit and 1.98 mg (38.7%) with the System 22 unit.