Essentials of Aerosol Therapy in Critically ill Patients

This book assesses the most appropriate forms of aerosol therapy for critically ill patients. Aerosol therapy is applied for the treatment of several pulmonary diseases in addition to some promising applications intended for systemic absorption. Nowadays, aerosol delivery to clinically stable patients in the outpatient settings is done easily with a lot of focus on patient counseling and enhancement of lung deposition. A lot of guidelines are available for several diseases and it could offer adequate guidance to the therapists concerning escalation or de-escalation of therapy to enhance treatment efficiency and safety. However, in critically ill patients aerosol delivery is mostly done by the choice of the respiratory therapist only according to his knowledge. The book describes the type of patients requiring aerosol therapy, different aerosol generators available for the treatment of critically ill patients, mechanisms of aerosol lung deposition, and factors affecting aerosol deposition. It also discusses the special needs of neonates and infants, transitioning aerosol from hospital to home, and the methods of aerosol delivery to different patient e.g. nasal delivery patients, ventilated patients, etc. Moreover, it reviews methods of detecting such aerosol delivery to the lung. At the end, it discusses the suggested monitoring plans and weaning protocols to ensure high efficacy and safety of the ventilatory support in such patients. Given its scope, the book can serve as guidelines or specific recommendations to maximize clinical benefits of medicated aerosols in critically ill patients and it represents a valuable resource for intensivists, pulmonologists and healthcare professionals working at ICUs.