Objective:
To study diphenhydramine nebulization as a clinically applicable method for blunting laryngeal chemoreflex (LCR)-associated apnea.
Intervention:
Fourteen piglets aged 15 to 18 days were studied. In 7 piglets, diphenhydramine hydrochloride (5.0 mg/kg) was nebulized onto the laryngeal mucosa after a baseline response was obtained.
Results:
After a 10-minute waiting period, the mean±SD LCR-induced apnea duration decreased from 29± 13 seconds in the control animals to 15±5 seconds in the treated group (P=.02, 1-factor analysis of variance). After 1 hour, no treatment effect was seen.
Conclusions:
Nebulization of diphenhydramine can effectively reduce LCR-induced apnea for a short time. Nebulization of longer-acting agents may provide an effective prophylaxis of LCR-induced apnea.Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1996;122:1112-1116