Therapeutic effect of aerosol inhalation on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of helium and oxygen aerosol inhalation on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease（COPD）. Methods Nineteen hospitalized patients with COPD were randomly divided into experimental group（n=11） and control group（n=8）.Patients in experimental group inhaled helium and oxygen aerosol and those in control group inhaled nitrogen and oxygen aerosol to observe changes of their symptoms before and after treatment. Results No significant difference was observed in smell and flow speed of inhaled aerosol,feeling of lower respiratory tract,cough,expectoration,feeling of nasopharynx,vital signs,PaO2,property and volume of sputum,dry and wet rales between the two groups.However,significant differences were found in aerosolized time,inhalation difficulty,respiration holding,PaO2,and dyspnea between the two groups（P＜0.05）.The aerosolized time was shorter,the PaO2 was significantly higher,and the improvement of dyspnea symptoms was better in experimental group than in control group（P＜0.05）. Conclusion Inhalation of helium and oxygen aerosol is significantly advantageous over the traditional method for COPD by shortening the aerosolized time,increasing the availability of inhaled drugs,and improving the symptoms of hypoxia and dyspnea.