Fenoterol

Drugbox
IUPAC_name = ("RS")-1-(3,5-Dihydroxyphenyl)- 2- [("RS")-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)- 1-methylethylamino] ethanol

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CAS_number = 13392-18-2
ATC_prefix=R03
ATC_suffix=AC04
ATC_supplemental=ATC|G02|CA03
PubChem = 3343
DrugBank =
C=17|H=21|N=1|O=4
molecular_weight = 303.35 g/mol
bioavailability =
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routes_of_administration = Inhaled

Fenoterol is an asthma medication designed to open up the airways to the lungs. It is classed as a beta agonist.

Fenoterol was marketed as "Berotec" by Boehringer-Ingelheim.

ide effects

It was a long-acting beta-agonist widely used in New Zealand in the early 1990s but withdrawncite journal |author=Beasley R, Pearce N, Crane J, Burgess C |title=Withdrawal of fenoterol and the end of the New Zealand asthma mortality epidemic |journal=International archives of allergy and immunology |volume=107 |issue=1-3 |pages=325–7 |year=1995 |pmid=7613161 |doi= |url=] because of its association with an excess number of deaths.

This was due to its additional effects on the B₁ receptors that lead to cardiovascular adverse effects, notably dysrhythmia and cardiac hypoxia. Fenoterol increased the risk of death because it was typically used in excessively large doses for severe asthma attackscite journal |author=Spitzer WO, Suissa S, Ernst P, "et al" |title=The use of beta-agonists and the risk of death and near death from asthma |journal=The New England journal of medicine |volume=326 |issue=8 |pages=501–6 |year=1992 |month=February |pmid=1346340 |doi= |url=] in the absence of medical assistance. Instances were known of patients who had used up to 80 puffs before seeking medical attention.

References