Assessment of different techniques for the administration of inhaled salbutamol in children breathing spontaneously via tracheal tubes, supraglottic airway devices, and tracheostomies.

Via tracheal tube and non-valved spacer, the following doses should be delivered after single actuation of a 100 µg labeled-claim salbutamol dose: ~2 µg kg-1 per actuation to a 3 kg neonate, ~1 µg kg-1 per actuation to a 16 kg child, and ~ 0.5 µg kg-1 per actuation for a 50-75 kg child. The least effective methods were the syringe, and the uni- and bidirectional adaptor methods, which require replacement by the direct method if a spacer is unavailable.