We evaluated the safety and influence of nebulizer therapy in cases with chronic sinusitis and in guinea pigs.
The patients were treated with Tobracin ®using a nebulizer for 3 months, but no changes were observed in GOT, GPT, or BUN. The guinea pigs were treated with Panimycin ® 8 times daily for 4 weeks at a dose 40 times higher than that in the patients, but hematological examination showed no abnormalities. The blood concentrations of the drugs administered by a nebulizer were 1/40 of those of the same drugs injected intramuscularly. In the treatment using a nebulizer, since minute particles increase in the treatment room, adequate air exchange is needed. The distribution of the drug sprayed using a nebulizer in the body was 30% in the nasal cavity, 10% in the pharyngolaryngeal area, 10% in the chest and 1% in the abdomen, and 40-50% was scattered into the air including expired gas. Three to six minutes seem to be the adeqwate duration of time for drug spraying in nebulizer treatment.