Bronchodilators
- Relax airway smooth muscle
- Beta-2 agonists + antimuscarinics dominate
- Rescue vs maintenance depends on duration
- COPD and asthma strategies differ
- Overuse of rescue drug signals poor control
Class at a glance
- Relax airway smooth muscle
Practical pearls
- Rescue vs maintenance depends on duration
Pharmacology
- Beta-2 agonists + antimuscarinics dominate
Other practical pearls
- COPD and asthma strategies differ
- Overuse of rescue drug signals poor control
Self-check
- What determines whether a bronchodilator is rescue or maintenance therapy?
Duration. - What does rescue-bronchodilator overuse signal?
Poor control.
Drugs in this class (18)
Bronchodilators prescription history
Animated chart of estimated U.S. prescriptions per year, Asthma/COPD meds (1924–2026).
All drug classes · Open Bronchodilators in the interactive console ↗