Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
salbutamol

salbutamol

4.8
A medicine that helps you breathe by making the airways wider
  • noun
  • /sælˈbjuːtəˌmɒl/
  • UK
translation icon : salbutamol
  • After using salbutamol, she noticed an improvement in her breathing almost immediately.
  • salbutamol inhaler
  • salbutamol 100 mcg
  • asthma drug salbutamol

So a nebulizer is a drug we give via a mask, and Atrovent and salbutamol are both drugs.

Examples

  • At the second appointment, he reports less breathlessness, less use of his salbutamol, and more stamina on the golf course.

    Academic text (2011)

  • You perform spirometry with reversibility, using 400 mcg of salbutamol through a spacer.

    Academic text (2012)

  • In children, failure to respond to 10 puffs of salbutamol means that they should be sent to the hospital for further assessment and management.

    Academic text (2012)

  • An alternative to reversibility testing with salbutamol is to perform a trial of treatment with inhaled corticosteroids.

    Academic text (2012)

  • When performing reversibility testing, how long after the dose of salbutamol is administered should you perform the post-bronchodilator test?

    Academic text (2012)

  • Before sputum induction, all patients inhaled 200 mg of salbutamol via a metered dose inhaler.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Initial management was supportive with intravenous hydrocortisone, nebulized adrenaline (epinephrine), and nebulized salbutamol (albuterol).

    Academic text (2009)

  • An improvement in FEV1 of >400 mls following salbutamol 100 mcg x4 puffs constitutes a positive reversibility and is highly suggestive of asthma.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The doctor prescribed salbutamol to help relieve my asthma symptoms during exercise.

  • He carries a salbutamol inhaler everywhere in case of an asthma attack.

Synonyms

albuterol
vssalbutamol
  • Specialized
7 3.5

A medicine that opens the small tubes in the lungs to help you breathe, often used for asthma

is the alternative name used for the same drug in other regions
bronchodilator
vssalbutamol
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A medicine that relaxes the small tubes in the lungs to make breathing easier

is a specific medication that performs this action rather than the whole drug class
Ventolin
vssalbutamol
1 4.4

A medicine you breathe in that quickly opens your airways during asthma attacks

is the generic name rather than the trademarked product
aminophylline
vssalbutamol
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A medicine that opens the airways to make breathing easier in asthma and bronchitis

is a different medication with the same airway-relaxing purpose

Surface Forms

salbutamol singular
salbutamols plural

Etymology

Salbutamol, called albuterol in the US, is a modern drug name made from small chemical pieces that tell chemists about the molecule. A helpful way to remember it is to spot but, which comes from 'butyl', a common chemical part, and -ol, which shows an 'alcohol' group, so the name points to the molecule and is used for the breathing medicine that relaxes airway muscles.