Combivent Side Effects
Serious Adverse Side Effects
Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol has some serious adverse side effects associated with it, such as:
- Cardiovascular side effects such as abnormal heartbeats, myocardial ischemia (imbalance between heart oxygen supply and demand), and supraventricular tachycardia (rapid heart rates that originate at the ventricles of the heart)
- Immunological side effects such as anaphylaxis, a deadly allergic reaction
- Ophthalmic side effects such as angle-closure glaucoma (damage to the nerves in the eyes)
- Respiratory side effects such as pneumonia
- Other side effects such as angioedema (a deadly allergic reaction that involves swelling of the skin and face)
Common Adverse Side Effects
More common and less severe adverse side effects of
Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol are:
- Neurological side effects such as headache
- Respiratory side effects such as bronchitis, cough, disorders of the respiratory system, shortness of breath, throat inflammation, sinus inflammation and upper respiratory tract infection
Warnings & Recalls for Combivent
Contraindications
Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol has contraindications to it that hinder a patient’s ability to take this drug. They include:
- Hypersensitivity to Ipratropium bromide, albuterol, atropine or any other derivatives or components of this drug
- Hypersensitivity to soya lecithin or related soy-based food products
Who Should Not Take This Drug
The following patients who have these preexisting conditions shouldn’t take this drug:
- Bladder neck obstruction
- Cardiovascular disorders
- Concurrent use with MAO inhibitors
- Convulsive disorders
- Diabetes mellitus
- Excessive responses to sympathomimetic amines
- Excessive use
- Glaucoma
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypokalemia
- Prostatic hyperplasia
Combivent Treatment and Use
Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol is a drug combination that is used to alleviate wheezing, difficulty with breathing, coughing and chest tightness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. This drug is used by COPD patients whose symptoms haven’t been controlled by single-inhaled medications. The drug classification of Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol is that of a bronchodilator. This drug combination comes in the form of MDI, or metered-dose inhaler, or as a nebulizer. Its non-FDA labeled indication is for treatment with asthma patients.
Currently this drug is marketed and manufactured by Boehringer-Ingelheim. In the fiscal years of 2009-10, Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol had a total revenue of close to $960 billion worldwide.
How This Drug Works
The mechanism of action for Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol is that this has a dual action due to the formulation of two separate bronchodilators. Ipratropium bromide is a bronchodilator known for being an anti-cholinergic while albuterol is a beta-2 adrenergic bronchodilator.
Ipratropium bromide acts against acetylcholine by the inhibition of reflexes in the lungs and also prevents it from binding to certain receptors of bronchial smooth muscles resulting in breath alleviation and relaxation of these muscles.
Albuterol relaxes these bronchial smooth muscles by the activation of beta-2 adrenergic receptors that are present in the lung, thereby increasing intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP levels which activates protein kinase A and the blockage of phosphorylation of myosin. This leads to the suppression of intracellular concentrations of Ca++ whose decrease leads to bronchial smooth muscle relaxation from the trachea to terminal bronchioles. The added benefit of albuterol is that by increasing cyclic AMP levels, it thereby blocks the release of cells called mast cells which in turn cause bronchoconstriction.
Dosage Information
The dosage information for Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol depends upon the severity of each patient’s COPD and asthma problems. This drug combination is available as an inhaler and also as a nebulizer. The starting dose for Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol is about two inhalations 4 times in a day. Patients are able to administer a higher number of inhalations per day, however shouldn’t exceed 12 inhalations per day as anything beyond this number of inhalations hasn’t had an established effectiveness or safety profile.
Things to know before inhaling Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol are:
- This drug should be test-sprayed at least 3 times into the air prior to first use.
- For the effective dosage, the inhaler should be shaken for about 10 seconds before each spray
- COPD and asthma patients should inhale Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol into the lungs rather than swallowing this drug into the stomach
- For the proper administration of Combivent | ipratropium bromide/albuterol, patients should be given adequate training before inhaling the spray. The best practice for this drug is to hold the breath for at least 10 seconds between each spray so the maximum dosage can be absorbed into the lungs
- For the most effectiveness, patients should allow 2 minute intervals between each spray