Nebulization of N-acetylcysteine combined with a bronchodilator in patients with chronic bronchitis. A controlled study.

In a controlled seven week stndy in ten patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis, nebnlized N-acetylcysteine combined with racemic epinephrine was highly effective in thinning sputum. By contrast, nebulized saline plus racemic epinephrine tended to make the sputum thicker in these same patients. Neither the N-acetylcysteine-racemic epinephrine combition nor the salineracemic epinephrine aerosol exhibited any observable effect on the chest roentgenogram, spirometric measurements or sputum vohme in this group of patients. The bronchial obstruction previously observed with N-acetylcysteine alone did not occur when the drug was nebulized with racemic epinepbrine. We would conchde that whenever N-acetylcysteine is administered, a bronchodilator should be nebulized concomitantly less there is a clear contraindication to its use.