Controlled comparison of the bronchodilator effects of three beta-adrenergic stimulant drugs administered by inhalation to patients with asthma

Abstract

In a double-blind trial of the effect of inhaling three different beta-adrenergic stimulants (isoprenaline sulphate 1,000 mug., orciprenaline sulphate 1,500 mug., and salbutamol 200 mug.) and a placebo on ventilatory function in 24 patients with chronic asthma salbutamol was found to have a much longer action than isoprenaline, and it produced a slightly more intense and prolonged effect than orciprenaline. In a double-blind subjective assessment 13 of the 24 patients selected salbutamol as the most effective preparation, while only five preferred isoprenaline and three orciprenaline. Hence salbutamol, given by inhalation, may prove to be the most effective drug at present available for the short-term relief of asthmatic symptoms.