Brief Overview on Sustained Release Theophylline (SRT): An Older Drug for COPD

Abstract

This chapter aimed to emphasize the value of such a drug which needs to be retained as it has withstood the test of time and the efficacy and timely inclusion of this drug may still be the elixir of COPD treatment. With the advent of newer drugs, the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is undergoing a tremendous and dynamic revolution. Newer drugs, mostly inhalational, with better action and reduced side-effects, are being introduced regularly in the management of this otherwise difficult- to-treat disease. We believe that the axiom that states that the development of new drugs does not diminish the clinical advantage of previously used ones applies to SRT. We try to emphasise the significance of Sustained- Released Theophylline (SRT) in the management of COPD in this abstract. The endeavour is to systematically emphasize the myriad actions of SRT which provide relief by multiple means to patients in Acute exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPD).