The Potential Synergistic Risk of Albuterol and Vasoactives in Acute Lung Injury Trials

Background: Critically ill patients are often prescribed both inhaled beta-agonists and intravenous vasoactive; however, the interaction of the additive beta-agonist effects of these 2 agents remains largely uncharacterized. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate how concomitant use of albuterol and vasoactive or inotropes affected ventilator-free days (VFDs) by re-analyzing the data from the Albuterol to Treat Acute Lung Injury (ALTA) trial. Methods: In this study, subjects were grouped to albuterol-vasoactive (n = 84) versus (vs) placebo-vasoactive (n = 62). Ventilator-free days, intensive care unit (ICU)-free days, organ failure-free days, cardiovascular adverse events, and 90-day mortality were compared. The primary outcome was VFDs. Results: Patients in the albuterol-vasoactive group had significantly fewer VFDs than patients in the placebo-vasoactive group (11 vs 19, P = 0.05). Patients in the albuterol-vasoactive group also had significantly fewer ICU-free days (9.5 vs 18.5, P = .006). The 90-day mortality was similar between groups (36.9% vs 27.4%, P = .20). Similarly, no significant difference in cardiac adverse events between the groups (14.3% vs 11.3%, P = 0.59). Conclusion and Relevance: This study has shown fewer VFDs for patients who received both vasoactive and albuterol. There were also fewer ICU-free days when compared to those on vasoactive only. Given the common use of both agents, a prospective evaluation of the additive adverse effects of beta-agonism is warranted.