Wednesday, December 24, 2014

To saline or not to saline

Is it really benefical to instill 3 cc of mucomyst into and endotracheal tube and then suction the solution immediately after the instillation? What the heck is going on with that?


Let's take a look at Mucomyst (N-acetylcyteine): N-acetylcyteine is a derivative of a naturally occuring amino acid, L-cysteine and it contains sulfhydryl group (-SH) which have the ability to cleave disulfide bonds in proteins. The most important variables at affect the mucolytic and proteolytic effects of Mucomyst at pH and time of incubation. Studies demonstrate that there is about a 20% improvement in the effectiveness of Mucomyst when the pH is 8.0 - 9.0 as compared to a pH below 7.5 with an incubation period of 60 minutes.


Read the article: Clinical Experiences with Acetylcysteine as a Mucolvtic Agent.

Respiratory Pharmacology made easy