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Home / Equine Research Bank / J Vet Intern Med / Efficacy of Inhaled Levalbuterol Compared to Albuterol in Ho...
Journal of veterinary internal medicine2016; 30(4); 1333-1337; doi: 10.1111/jvim.14320

Efficacy of Inhaled Levalbuterol Compared to Albuterol in Horses with Recurrent Airway Obstruction.

Abstract: The (R)-enantiomer of racemic albuterol (levalbuterol) has bronchodilatory properties whereas the (S)-enantiomer causes adverse effects in human airways, animal models, and isolated equine bronchi. Levalbuterol is commercially available and improves pulmonary function of asthmatic patients with a longer duration of effect than albuterol. Objective: To determine the dose at which inhaled levalbuterol produces maximal bronchodilatory effect (EDmax) and determine its duration of action in recurrent airway obstruction (RAO)-affected horses in comparison to racemic albuterol. Methods: Nine horses with inducible and reversible RAO. Methods: Randomized, crossover trial. Horses were challenged with moldy hay to induce airway obstruction. Horses were treated with nebulized albuterol or levalbuterol chosen randomly. Pulmonary function testing (PFT) was measured before and for up to 3 hours after bronchodilatation challenge. Maximum change in transpulmonary pressure (DPmax ) was measured to assess the dose effect and duration of action of each drug. After a 24 hours washout period, the bronchodilatation challenge was repeated with the second bronchodilator. Results: The duration of effect was 60 minutes for albuterol and 120 minutes for levalbuterol. The dose of bronchodilator EDmax was not significantly different between albuterol and levalbuterol (EDmax = 125.0 [125-125 μg] and EDmax = 188 [125-188 μg] respectively; P = .068). The magnitude of bronchodilatation was not significantly different between the 2 treatments (61.1 and 59.9% decrease in DPmax for albuterol and levalbuterol respectively; P = .86). Conclusions: Levalbuterol is as effective a bronchodilator as albuterol; although levalbuterol lasts twice as long as albuterol, its duration of action is still too short to make it practical for RAO treatment.
Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
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Publication Date: 2016-06-09 PubMed ID: 27282625PubMed Central: PMC5089594DOI: 10.1111/jvim.14320Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
  • Randomized Controlled Trial

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research examines the effectiveness of inhaled levalbuterol in comparison to albuterol in treating horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). Although levalbuterol was found to be as effective a bronchodilator as albuterol and had a longer lasting effect, its duration of action was still deemed too short to be a practical solution for RAO treatment.

Study Design

  • The study was a randomized crossover trial involving nine horses suffering from RAO. They were subjected to moldy hay to induce airway obstruction, emulating the conditions that might naturally lead to RAO.
  • The horses were treated with either nebulized levalbuterol or albuterol at random, and their pulmonary functions were tested before and for up to 3 hours following the bronchodilation challenge.
  • The study also measured the maximum change in transpulmonary pressure to assess the dose effect and duration of action of each drug.
  • After a 24-hour break, the experiment was repeated with the second bronchodilator.

Results

  • The study found that the duration of effect was 60 minutes for albuterol, compared to 120 minutes for levalbuterol. This indicates that levalbuterol had twice the duration of effect as albuterol.
  • The dose of bronchodilator, as indicated by the EDmax value, was not significantly different between albuterol and levalbuterol.
  • In terms of bronchodilatation magnitude, the two treatments were also quite similar: a 61.1% and 59.9% decrease in transpulmonary pressure were recorded for albuterol and levalbuterol, respectively.

Conclusions

  • Based on the findings, the researchers concluded that levalbuterol functions as efficiently as a bronchodilator as albuterol does.
  • Even though levalbuterol has a longer-lasting effect—twice as long as albuterol—its duration of action is still too short for it to be practical in RAO treatment.
  • This implies that while levalbuterol may have benefits over albuterol in terms of duration of action, neither provides a long-term solution to RAO in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Arroyo MG, Couëtil LL, Nogradi N, Kamarudin MM, Ivester KM. (2016). Efficacy of Inhaled Levalbuterol Compared to Albuterol in Horses with Recurrent Airway Obstruction. J Vet Intern Med, 30(4), 1333-1337. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.14320

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 30
Issue: 4
Pages: 1333-1337

Researcher Affiliations

Arroyo, M G
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, West Lafayette, IN.
Couëtil, L L
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, West Lafayette, IN.
Nogradi, N
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, West Lafayette, IN.
Kamarudin, M M
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, West Lafayette, IN.
Ivester, K M
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, West Lafayette, IN.

MeSH Terms

  • Albuterol / administration & dosage
  • Albuterol / therapeutic use
  • Animals
  • Bronchodilator Agents / administration & dosage
  • Bronchodilator Agents / therapeutic use
  • Cross-Over Studies
  • Female
  • Horse Diseases / drug therapy
  • Horses
  • Levalbuterol / administration & dosage
  • Levalbuterol / therapeutic use
  • Lung Diseases, Obstructive / drug therapy
  • Lung Diseases, Obstructive / veterinary
  • Male

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Citations

This article has been cited 4 times.
  1. Chang T, Akin S, Kim MK, Murray L, Kim B, Cho S, Huh S, Teke S, Couetil L, Jun MB, Lee CH. A Programmable Dual-Regime Spray for Large-Scale and Custom-Designed Electronic Textiles. Adv Mater 2022 Mar;34(9):e2108021.
    doi: 10.1002/adma.202108021pubmed: 34951073google scholar: lookup
  2. Secombe C, Adler A, Hosgood G, Raisis A, Mosing M. Can bronchoconstriction and bronchodilatation in horses be detected using electrical impedance tomography?. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Jul;35(4):2035-2044.
    doi: 10.1111/jvim.16152pubmed: 33977584google scholar: lookup
  3. Nyerges-Bohák Z, Kovács L, Povázsai Á, Hamar E, Póti P, Ladányi M. Heart rate variability in horses with and without severe equine asthma. Equine Vet J 2025 May;57(3):611-618.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.14414pubmed: 39275917google scholar: lookup
  4. Mozo Vives B, Mainguy-Seers S, Lavoie JP. Comparative study of the bronchodilator efficacy and adverse effects of salbutamol and hyoscine butylbromide in horses with severe asthma. J Vet Intern Med 2024 May-Jun;38(3):1835-1841.
    doi: 10.1111/jvim.17057pubmed: 38609079google scholar: lookup
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