BACKGROUND The type of aerosol generator and the position in the ventilator circuit are crucial to determine aerosol delivery during mechanical ventilation. We compared lung deposition of albuterol aerosols generated by 4 different nebulizers placed in-line in 4 different positions in a pediatric ventilator model. METHODS Two brands of continuously operated jet nebulizer (6 L/ min, oxygen), a...

OBJECTIVE To describe the pathogens found in home nebulizers and in respiratory samples of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, and to evaluate the effect that a standardized instruction regarding cleaning and disinfection of nebulizers has on the frequency of nebulizer contamination. METHODS We included 40 CF patients (22 males), all of whom used the same model of nebulizer. The median patient age...

A comparison of aerosol delivery has been made between two open-vent Pari jet nebulizers. Intermittent and continuous delivery were compared for one of the nebulizers. Ten healthy volunteers inhaled 99mTc-labelled diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) aerosols on three occasions. The Pari LC device was operated both intermittently (by a manual interrupter that generated aerosol only in sy...

We wish to comment upon the paper of CHINN et al. [1] in which both weight and aerosol output data were given for 193 Mefar nebulizers from 27 centres involved in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). A single centre in Turin determined nebulizer output using the sodium fluoride (NaF) tracer method described by DENNIS et al. [2]. The weight output was given as 11 mg·s-1 with...

Nebulizers have been used clinically for many years. Despite the increasing use of metered-dose inhalers and dry powder inhalers, it is likely that nebulizers will continue to be used in selected patients. A number of factors affect nebulizer performance, and these should be appreciated by clinicians who use these devices. Several new designs have recently become available that improve the perf...

The effects of long-term use and of cleaning on the output of 30 specimens of DeVilbiss 646 nebulizers were investigated in order to assess their influence on outcome and interpretation of inhalation provocation tests. Output was assessed in a standardized manner based on weight loss on four occasions one year apart. Output was highly reproducible (intraclass correlation greater than or equal t...

During the six months from January-June 1994, 10 cases of severe and 11 of less severe pulmonary infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa were diagnosed in patients with chronic obstructive airways disease. Possible sources were evaluated. P. aeruginosa was isolated from four of the 22 nebulizers tested. The relationship of isolates from the patients and nebulizers was confirmed by sero- and ...

DeVilbiss No. 40 hand-held nebulizers are widely used for quantifying airway responsiveness in large populations using pharmacological agents. We examined the aerosol characteristics of five nebulizers. Within each device, the aerosol output and droplet size were reasonably stable over a wide range of bulb pressures, although there were considerable differences in output characteristics between...