IV-NAC effective against respiratory disease with abnormal mucus secretion
China: A recent study has demonstrated the efficacy of intravenous (IV) N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in respiratory diseases with abnormal mucus secretion.
The study, featured in European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, provides new evidence for administering IV NAC in this indication in clinical situations where the preferred route is intravenous.
N-acetylcysteine was introduced in the 1960s and is well-established as a mucolytic agent for respiratory conditions (acute and chronic). In various European countries, NAC is licensed in this indication and is available in inhaled, parenteral, and oral formulations. Based on many years of use in clinical practice, NAC has shown an excellent tolerability and safety profile.
In certain circumstances, IV administration of NAC may be preferred as a mucolytic for respiratory conditions, e.g. severely ill hospitalized patients. Considering the lack of clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of IV NAC as a mucolytic, the authors state, "It is vital to establish IV NAC's efficacy as an expectorant and mucolytic in a large, robust clinical trial.
Against the above background, W. Tang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, and colleagues aimed to evaluate whether IV NAC is superior to placebo and non-inferior to ambroxol in improving expectoration difficulty and sputum viscosity by conducting a large, randomized, multicenter, controlled, subject, and rater-blinded study.
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