What is the difference between atrovent and ventolin

Atrovent HFA and albuterol have some similar side effects and others that differ. Below are examples of these side effects. These lists contain examples of more common side effects that can occur with Atrovent HFA, with albuterol, or with both drugs when taken individually. These lists contain examples of serious side effects that can occur with Atrovent HFA, with albuterol, or with both drugs when taken individually. No major differences in effectiveness were seen between the two drugs when they were used as a maintenance treatment.

They both improve how well your lungs work and reduce COPD symptoms. Your doctor might suggest trying either one of these, or other bronchodilators, to see which works best for you.

Atrovent HFA is a brand-name drug. There are currently no generic forms available. Brand-name medications usually cost more than generics. Albuterol is a generic drug.

Some of its forms are available as brand-name drugs. According to estimates on GoodRx. Both types of Spiriva inhalers are approved as maintenance treatments. Spiriva Respimat is also approved as a maintenance treatment for asthma in adults and in children ages 6 years and older.

Spiriva contains the active drug tiotropium. These both belong to a class of drugs called anticholinergics. A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way.

Atrovent HFA is short-acting and needs to be taken several times a day. Spiriva is long-acting and is only taken once a day. This type of inhaler releases one measured dose of medication as a spray each time you press down on the canister.

It comes in one dosage strength: 17 micrograms mcg. Spiriva HandiHaler is a dry powder inhaler that you use to inhale the powder from Spiriva capsules. With this type of inhaler, you take quick, deep breaths to deliver the medication to your lungs.

Spiriva capsules come in one strength: 18 mcg. Spiriva Respimat is a metered-dose inhaler that comes in two dosage strengths: 1. Atrovent HFA and Spiriva have some similar side effects and others that differ. These lists contain examples of more common side effects that can occur with Atrovent HFA, with Spiriva, or with both drugs when taken individually.

This list contains examples of serious side effects that can occur with both Atrovent HFA and with Spiriva when taken individually. The review found Spiriva to be more effective than ipratropium bromide at improving lung function how well your lungs work. Researchers compared the effect of the drugs by using a value called forced expiratory volume in 1 second FEV1. After 3 months, people using either ipratropium bromide or Spiriva had an improvement in their FEV1 compared with before they started treatment.

However, the improvement in FEV1 was 0. People using Spiriva were also found to have fewer flare-ups of their COPD, fewer hospital visits, and improved quality of life when your condition has less of an effect on your daily life.

Atrovent HFA and Spiriva are both brand-name drugs. There are currently no generic forms of either drug.

Atrovent HFA may also be used off-label for other conditions. COPD is the name for a group of lung diseases that includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Most people with COPD have both of these conditions to some degree. Emphysema damages the tiny air sacs that are deep in your lungs, making it difficult to breathe out.

Bronchitis makes your airways inflamed swollen and narrowed, making it harder for air to flow in and out of your lungs. It also makes your lungs produce more mucus. All of these issues cause trouble breathing and make it difficult to get enough oxygen. COPD is a chronic long-term illness that gets progressively worse over time. However, treatment guidelines for COPD recommend maintenance treatment to:.

Atrovent HFA is a bronchodilator medication you take every day to help keep your airways open and make breathing easier. In two clinical studies , Atrovent HFA was shown to improve lung function how well your lungs work. In the first study , Atrovent HFA treatment was compared to treatment with a placebo inhaler containing no active drug.

The researchers measured FEV1 before treatment, after one day of treatment, and again after 12 weeks of treatment. A propellant is a gas that forces the medication out of the inhaler as a spray when you press down on the canister.

In addition to the use listed above, Atrovent HFA may be used off-label. Also, in the latest guidelines, ipratropium bromide the active drug in Atrovent HFA is recommended for managing moderate to severe flare-ups of asthma that require treatment in the emergency room. Ipratropium bromide is used with albuterol to help open your airways and relieve severe breathing difficulties. In this situation, ipratropium bromide may be taken with a nebulizer a machine that changes liquid medication into a fine mist that you inhale.

It may also be taken with an inhaler such as Atrovent HFA which is an off-label use for this drug. In most cases, one of the other drugs prescribed is a rescue inhaler. Rescue inhalers work quickly within a few minutes to open your airways and help make breathing easier.

They contain drugs called short-acting beta-agonists. Keep your rescue inhaler with you at all times, and use it if you need to quickly relieve sudden breathlessness. They may need to change your daily medication to one that better controls your COPD. However, some research suggests that regular drinking over a long period of time can make it harder for your lungs to remove bacteria. It can also damage certain immune cells in your lungs, making it harder to fight off infections.

If you have COPD and drink alcohol, talk with your doctor about how much is safe for you to drink. Atrovent HFA can interact with certain medications. Different interactions can cause different effects. For instance, some interactions can interfere with how well a drug works. Other interactions can increase side effects or make them more severe.

Below is a list of medications that can interact with Atrovent HFA. This list does not contain all drugs that may interact with Atrovent HFA. Before taking Atrovent HFA, talk with your doctor and pharmacist.

Tell them about all prescription, over-the-counter, and other drugs you take. Also tell them about any vitamins, herbs, and supplements you use. Sharing this information can help you avoid potential interactions. If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Atrovent HFA is a type of drug called an anticholinergic. If you take it with other anticholinergic drugs, you may be more likely to get certain side effects.

These can include eye problems, such as glaucoma , or urinary problems, such as trouble urinating. Examples of anticholinergic drugs that may increase the risk of side effects if taken with Atrovent HFA include:. If you need to take one of these medications with Atrovent HFA, your doctor will monitor you closely.

Tell them if you notice any side effects, such as changes to your vision or trouble urinating. However, you should still check with your doctor or pharmacist before using any of these products while taking Atrovent HFA. As with all medications, the cost of Atrovent HFA can vary. The cost you find on GoodRx.

Your insurance plan may require you to get prior authorization before they approve coverage for Atrovent HFA. This means that your doctor and insurance company will need to communicate about your prescription before the insurance company will cover the drug. The insurance company will review the request and let you and your doctor know if your plan will cover Atrovent HFA. If you need financial support to pay for Atrovent HFA, help is available.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. To take a puff from your Atrovent HFA inhaler, press down on the canister while steadily breathing in through the mouthpiece.

Your healthcare provider or pharmacist will show you how to use your Atrovent HFA inhaler correctly. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you find Atrovent HFA hard to use. They may suggest using a spacer device with your inhaler. A spacer is a large plastic container with a mouthpiece at one end.

It has a hole at the other end for inserting the mouthpiece of your inhaler. Concomitant medications were carefully monitored. Inhaled bronchodilators other than the study drugs were not allowed during the treatment period. The use of long-term oral corticosteroids were allowed if the patient was stabilized with a minimal dose for at least 1 month before the study period. Temporary increases in the steroid dose or additions of steroids required for the treatment of exacerbations were allowed for a maximum of 7 days during the day treatment period.

Pulmonary function testing was postponed until at least 48 hours, but not more than 7 days, after the last increase or addition of steroids. Theophylline was allowed for maintenance therapy if the dosage was stable for 1 month before the study period.

Two 5-day increases in the theophylline dose or additions of theophylline were allowed for the treatment of exacerbations. Pulmonary function testing was postponed until at least 48 hours, but not more than 7 days, after the last increase or addition of theophylline. Before admission to the trial, informed consent was obtained and a complete medical history, a lead electrocardiogram, and a physical examination were performed.

Baseline laboratory evaluation included complete blood cell count; serum analyses of total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, calcium, inorganic phosphorus, and glucose levels; urinalysis, and total blood eosinophil count. Patients were then stabilized for 1 week with their concomitant COPD medications; test medications were excluded during this time to establish a baseline.

This trial conformed to the informed consent provisions and institutional review board provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations. Pulmonary function testing was carried out on days 1 and 29 of the treatment period. The patients were instructed not to use their inhaled medication for at least 12 hours before testing. Baseline spirometry was performed.

Patients then took 2 puffs of their trial medication. Spirometry measurements were taken 15, 30, and 60 minutes after drug administration and hourly after that for a total of 6 hours. All pulmonary function tests were conducted in triplicate, and the results from the spirometric maneuver with the greatest sum of FEV 1 and FVC was used for analysis.

The primary efficacy variable was FEV 1 , and the primary efficacy end points were peak change from test-day baseline duration of action and area under the curve AUC above test-day baseline. Biweekly physicians' global evaluations and patients' assessment of symptoms wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath were used to evaluate effects of the drugs on the patients' underlying COPD.

The patients' symptoms were graded from 0 not present to 3 severe. Safety end points were frequency of adverse events, changes from baseline physical examination findings over the 29 days, and changes from baseline in vital signs during the pulmonary function test days. Adverse events were recorded at each visit by the physician, including date of onset, number of minutes between the time of the last dose of study medication and the onset of the event, end date, intensity of the event, treatment required, outcome of the event, and the investigator's assessment of each event's relationship to the study drug.

When patients could not complete 6 hours of testing, the data were handled as follows: if testing was stopped early for reasons unrelated to COPD, the last recorded value on that test day was used for all subsequent missing values, provided at least 4 hours of testing had been completed.

If testing was halted because of lack of response, the lowest value observed for that patient on that test day was used for data following testing interruption. Analysis of covariance with terms for treatment, study site, and treatment-by-site interaction was used to compare the 2 treatment groups.

The baseline data were used as the covariate. Fisher exact test was used to compare adverse events and other frequency information.

Baselines for the 2 treatment groups were comparable on each of the test days and were stable over the course of the study. A total of patients completed the trial and were available for efficacy analysis: in the combined therapy group and in the albuterol group. The overall response to combined therapy was superior to albuterol alone, especially during the first 4 hours of testing Figure 1.

The mean peak response for the combined therapy group was significantly greater than for the albuterol group. The median onset time for each group on each test day was by 15 minutes, which was the first test point after drug administration. Median time to peak was 1 hour for combined therapy and 30 minutes for albuterol on both test days. Median duration of action for the combined therapy group ranged from 3 to 4 hours; for albuterol it was 2 hours. The duration of action for combined therapy was significantly greater than for albuterol on day 1 only.

The overall response to combined therapy was statistically significantly better than the response to albuterol alone on each test day. Symptom scores were mild in severity, indicating the stability of the patients' disease despite the severity of the obstruction seen by spirometry.

Although there were only minor changes in either treatment group over time Table 2 , statistically significant differences in favor of combination therapy were noted for wheezing and shortness of breath throughout the study and for tightness of the chest during the first 2 weeks of treatment.

Adverse events were similar between the 2 treatment groups. During active treatment, 45 Lower respiratory tract system disorders were the most commonly reported adverse events. These were reported by 16 patients receiving combined therapy 9. Investigators were asked to rate the probability that adverse events were drug related using the criteria by Karch and Lasagna, 6 ie, "possible," "probable," or "definite.

Fewer patients receiving combined therapy 7 [4. There was no evidence of potentiation of adverse events in the combined therapy group compared with albuterol base alone. The current American Thoracic Society guidelines for the care of individuals with COPD contain recommendations for step-by-step pharmacological therapy.

But this component provides near complete protection from bronchoconstriction spasms. Peak bronchodilation happens in 0. On the contrary, Albuterol with popular brand names such as Ventolin and Proventil is considered as a short-acting bronchodilator. Its duration of effect is similar to Atrovent 4 to 6 hours. Dosing is about 2 puffs for every hour period.

But in some cases, more frequent dosing may be required. If the pulmonary condition or asthma is still not managed well, Albuterol may be combined with Atrovent to increase drug efficacy. The two drugs have synergistic drug action which makes the treatment more effective. This is a more expensive drug and is gaining more grounds in the realm of asthma management.

Atrovent is an anticholinergic bronchodilator while Albuterol is a beta agonist sympathomimetic mimics the effects of sympathetic nervous system stimulation bronchodilator. Cite APA 7 ,. Difference Between Albuterol and Atrovent. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. MLA 8 ,. Did not say if atrovent was a fast relief inhaler like albuteral. I am confused. Is it a fast relif or slow acting? Neither drug can replace your Ventolin. Advair is a maintenance drug only.