Respiratory agents 

What are Respiratory agents?

Respiratory agents is a term used to describe a wide variety of medicines used to relieve, treat, or prevent respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or pneumonia.

Respiratory agents are available in many different forms, such as oral tablets, oral liquids, injections or inhalations. Inhalations deliver the required medicine or medicines directly to the lungs, which means the medicine(s) can act directly on the lung tissues, minimizing systemic side effects.

Some products contain more than one medicine (for example, inhalers that combine a long-acting bronchodilator with a glucocorticoid).

Respiratory agents is a term used to describe a wide variety of medicines used to relieve, treat, or prevent respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or pneumonia.

Bacterial causes of respiratory illnesses include Bordetella pertussis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Haemophilus influenzae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Respiratory medication classes discussed in this chapter include antihistamines, decongestants, antitussives, expectorants, beta-2 agonists, anticholinergics, corticosteroids, leukotriene receptor antagonists, and xanthine derivatives.