Effectiveness of the Aeroneb in Acute Severe Asthma

Background: The bronchodilator therapy is an essential component of the management of asthma exacerbation. The delivery of bronchodilators to the lungs in asthma exacerbations is usually achieved through nebulization (creating small particles to be inhaled). The commonly used nebulizer device is a small volume jet nebulizer which has not been consistently reliable in delivering bronchodilator therapy. The Aeroneb nebulizer device is a FDA approved device which produces consistently respirable sized particles which could potentially result in better bronchodilator effect than the standard jet nebulizer. Aim: To study whether the Aeroneb nebulizer is more effective than a small volume jet nebulizer in delivering bronchodilators during a severe asthma exacerbation. Experimental design: Patients will be randomized (like a flip of a coin) to receive bronchodilator therapy as per the emergency room protocol either via small volume jet nebulizer or Aeroneb nebulizer. Subjects: Adult patients between age of 18 and 55 years who present to the emergency room with severe asthma exacerbation with peak expiratory flow rate <50% of predicted. Study procedure: When enrolled in the study and after randomization, we will then collect data that is standard for the hospital like heart rate, blood pressure and breathing indices and also some non-routine things like some scoring scales for shortness of breath and serial measurements of peak expiratory flow rate. We anticipate that the Aeroneb device will be more effective in delivering bronchodilator medication and thus more effective in managing asthma exacerbations.