Administration of Inhaled Medications

This content was created by OPENPediatrics, a peer-reviewed medical education platform for healthcare professionals. Please see www.openpediatrics.org for more information.

Craig Smallwood, RRT: Author/Presenter

Clinical Coordinator of Respiratory Research, Boston Children’s Hospital

Traci Wolbrink, MD, MPH: Course Director
Co-Director, OPENPediatrics; Senior Associate in Critical Care Medicine
Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital
Associate Professor of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School

This course reviews the administration of inhaled and nebulized medications, including necessary equipment, indications for use, technique, potential complications and monitoring. The course is intended for physicians, nurses and pharmacists who provide care for infants and children that may require inhalation therapy. It addresses the need for improved healthcare provider education on the administration of inhaled medications. Informed healthcare providers will be able to better assess and provide effective treatment to pediatric patients who require inhaled or nebulized medications as part of their clinical care.

Learning Objectives: 

At the conclusion of this educational program, learners will be able to:

1. Describe devices used to administer inhaled and nebulized medications.
2. List indications and contraindications for administration of inhaled medications.
3. Identify equipment required to deliver nebulized or inhaled medications to pediatric patients of varying ages, sizes and developmental levels.
4. Describe the steps involved in administering a nebulizer and metered dose inhaler to optimize medication delivery.
5. Discuss appropriate cleaning of aerosol delivery equipment.
6. Discuss appropriate clinical monitoring and documentation after administration of inhaled medications.

In support of improving patient care, Boston Children’s Hospital is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Pharmacy

This activity carries a maximum of 0.5 contact hours. Pharmacists should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nurse

Boston Children’s Hospital designates this activity for 0.5 contact hours for nurses. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

Physicians

Boston Children’s Hospital designates this live activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.

Risk Management

Administration of Inhaled Medications meets the requirements of 0.5 Risk Management Credit as prescribed by the Massachusetts Board of Registrations in Medicine and defined in 243 CMR 2.06(5)(d) I. 

Disclosures

Boston Children’s Hospital adheres to all ACCME Essential Areas, Standards, and Policies. It is Boston Children’s policy that those who have influenced the content of a CME activity (e.g. planners, faculty, authors, reviewers and others) disclose all relevant financial relationships with commercial entities so that Boston Children’s may identify and resolve any conflicts of interest prior to the activity. These disclosures will be provided in the activity materials along with disclosure of any commercial support received for the activity. Additionally, faculty members have been instructed to disclose any limitations of data and unlabeled or investigational uses of products during their presentations.

The following planners, speakers, and content reviewers, on behalf of themselves, have reported the following relevant financial relationships with any entity producing, marketing, reselling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on patients: 

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