Thomas S H, Batchelor S, O'Doherty M J
Wolfson Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne.
BMJ. 1993 Jul 24;307(6898):245-7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.307.6898.245.
The use and variety of drugs administered to children as inhaled aerosols is increasing, but little is known about how much drug reaches the lung and how it is distributed there in different age groups. In this article the reasons for measuring aerosol deposition in children are discussed and the potential methods for doing this described. Of the methods available, only the use of radiolabelled aerosols gives accurate information on total lung deposition and distribution. The potential risk of the radiation exposure required for these measurements varies with the age of the child but seems to be small. Properly designed studies are expected to clarify the factors affecting lung deposition in children and identify methods of inhalation associated with efficient and predictable delivery of the drug. Measurements of radioaerosol deposition may therefore be justified in children when this information is expected to lead to improvements in the effectiveness or safety of their treatment.
作为吸入气雾剂给儿童使用的药物种类和使用量都在增加，但对于有多少药物能到达肺部以及在不同年龄组中药物在肺部的分布情况却知之甚少。本文讨论了测量儿童气雾剂沉积的原因，并描述了进行此项测量的潜在方法。在现有的方法中，只有使用放射性标记气雾剂才能提供有关全肺沉积和分布的准确信息。这些测量所需的辐射暴露潜在风险因儿童年龄而异，但似乎较小。经过合理设计的研究有望阐明影响儿童肺部沉积的因素，并确定与药物有效且可预测递送相关的吸入方法。因此，当预计这些信息能提高儿童治疗的有效性或安全性时，对儿童进行放射性气雾剂沉积测量可能是合理的。
