SABA (Short-Acting Beta Agonists) 2 drugs The rescue inhalers — open tight airways within minutes by relaxing airway muscle.
Treats: Asthma attack · COPD exacerbation · Exercise-induced bronchospasm
Tremor, tachycardia, and hypokalemia; needing it more than 2x/week means the asthma plan is failing. albuterol, levalbuterol
LABA (Long-Acting Beta Agonists) 4 drugs 12-24 hour airway openers for maintenance — never used alone in asthma.
Treats: Asthma maintenance (with ICS) · COPD maintenance
LABA alone in asthma increases asthma-death risk — must pair with inhaled corticosteroid. salmeterol, formoterol, olodaterol, vilanterol
SAMA (Short-Acting Muscarinic Antagonists) 1 drugs Block the 'tighten' nerve signal to airways — often paired with albuterol in COPD flares.
Treats: COPD exacerbation · Severe asthma attack (added to SABA)
Anticholinergic effects — dry mouth, urinary retention, caution in glaucoma. ipratropium
LAMA (Long-Acting Muscarinic Antagonists) 4 drugs Once-daily airway relaxers — a backbone of COPD maintenance.
Treats: COPD maintenance · Severe asthma add-on
Anticholinergic load — caution in narrow-angle glaucoma, BPH, urinary retention. tiotropium, umeclidinium, aclidinium, glycopyrrolate
Inhaled Corticosteroids (ICS) 5 drugs Daily anti-inflammatory controllers that calm the airway swelling behind asthma.
Treats: Persistent asthma · COPD with frequent exacerbations
Oral thrush and hoarseness — rinse mouth after every use; pneumonia risk in COPD. fluticasone, budesonide, beclomethasone, mometasone, ciclesonide
Systemic Corticosteroids 5 drugs Oral or IV steroids that shut down inflammation body-wide — powerful, fast, and full of side effects.
Treats: Asthma/COPD exacerbation · Severe allergic reactions · Autoimmune flares · Croup
Raises glucose, masks infection, causes adrenal suppression — taper after long use, never stop abruptly. prednisone, methylprednisolone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, prednisolone
Leukotriene Receptor Antagonists 3 drugs Daily pills that block leukotrienes — inflammation messengers behind asthma and allergies.
Treats: Asthma maintenance · Allergic rhinitis · Exercise-induced bronchospasm
Montelukast boxed warning: serious mood and behavior changes, including suicidal thoughts. montelukast, zafirlukast, zileuton
Antihistamines 7 drugs Block histamine to stop sneezing, itching, and hives — older ones sedate, newer ones don't.
Treats: Allergic rhinitis · Hives/urticaria · Allergic reactions · Insomnia (diphenhydramine, off-label)
First-generation agents cause sedation, falls, and anticholinergic effects — high-risk in older adults (Beers list). diphenhydramine, cetirizine, loratadine, fexofenadine, levocetirizine…
Decongestants 3 drugs Squeeze swollen nasal blood vessels to open a stuffy nose — at the cost of raising blood pressure.
Treats: Nasal congestion · Sinusitis symptom relief
Raises blood pressure and heart rate — caution in hypertension and heart disease; rebound congestion with nasal sprays >3 days. pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, oxymetazoline
Antitussives (Cough Suppressants) 3 drugs Quiet the cough reflex — centrally (dextromethorphan, codeine) or by numbing airway stretch receptors (benzonatate).
Treats: Dry, non-productive cough
Dextromethorphan + serotonergic drugs → serotonin syndrome; benzonatate overdose is rapidly fatal in children. dextromethorphan, benzonatate, codeine-guaifenesin
Mucolytics & Expectorants 4 drugs Thin and loosen mucus so it can be coughed out.
Treats: Productive cough · Cystic fibrosis (dornase alfa) · Acetaminophen overdose (acetylcysteine's other job)
Guaifenesin needs water to work; inhaled acetylcysteine can trigger bronchospasm in asthma. guaifenesin, acetylcysteine, dornase alfa, hypertonic saline (inhaled)
Biologics for Asthma / COPD 6 drugs Injectable antibodies that switch off one specific arm of allergic inflammation in severe asthma.
Treats: Severe eosinophilic asthma · Allergic asthma · Chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps
Anaphylaxis risk (especially omalizumab — observe after injection); very expensive; do not stop inhalers abruptly. omalizumab, dupilumab, mepolizumab, benralizumab, reslizumab…
Pulmonary Hypertension Agents 7 drugs Dilate the lung's blood vessels specifically to unload a strained right heart.
Treats: Pulmonary arterial hypertension
Bosentan and ambrisentan are teratogenic (REMS programs); never combine PDE5 inhibitors with nitrates. sildenafil, tadalafil, bosentan, ambrisentan, epoprostenol…
