The duration of bronchodilation of salmeterol and salbutamol as measured by specific airway conductance in healthy subjects.

According to the duration of bronchodilation, beta-2-agonists are divided into short and long acting bronchodilators. The bronchodilatory effect of available long acting beta-2-agonists (LABAs) beyond 12 h is not sufficiently studied. In order to evaluate the bronchodilatory effects of LABA in subjects without airway obstruction, the measurement of specific airway conductance (sGaw) with whole body plethysmography has been demonstrated to be a sensitive method.