The study hypothesises that the variability in relief of air hunger with inhaled furosemide that is reported in previous studies can be explained by the breathing pattern adopted during the inhalation and the droplet size in the aerosol, both of which would influence the site of deposition of the aerosol in the lungs
Recent studies suggest that inhaling furosemide as a mist reduces air hunger in healthy volunteers in whom air hunger is induced experimentally in the lab. However, how much reduction varies among individuals. It is not known if the way the mist is breathed (slow/deep or fast/shallow) or the size of the droplets in the mist (large or small) can explain the variation in relief. Both of these factors can influence the site of deposition of the aerosol in the lungs In this study the relief of air hunger (induced by hypercapnia and constrained ventilation) will be compared when furosemide is inhaled quickly or slowly, and when the mist has large or small droplets. 20 healthy volunteers will be recruited. After a practice session, the 'air hunger' test will be performed before and after 4ml of a 10mg/ml solution of furosemide (40mg). This will be repeated on 4 separate test days using a different method of inhaling the furosemide on each day.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
20
4ml of 10mg/ml solution of furosemide nebulized with small and large droplet sizes and inhaled with different breathing patterns
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
RECRUITINGVisual analogue scale for air hunger
The visual analogue scale (VAS) is from 0 (no air hunger) to 100 (extreme air hunger -tolerable limit). The VAS ratings are taken every 15 seconds during each experimentally induced air hunger test. Each breathing test (hypercapnia with constrained ventilation) is performed before and after each mist inhalation. The final minute of a 5 minute steady state period of hypercapnia and constrained ventilation is analysed during each breathing test (8 breathing tests in total)
Time frame: Final minute of a 5 minute steady state period per breathing test
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