5.14 Xanthine Derivatives
Theophylline is a xanthine derivative.
Mechanism of Action: Theophylline relaxes bronchial smooth muscle by inhibition of the enzyme phosphodiesterase and suppresses airway responsiveness to stimuli that cause bronchoconstriction.
Indications: Theophylline is used for the long-term management of persistent asthma that is unresponsive to beta-agonists or inhaled corticosteroids.
Nursing Considerations: Nurses should remind patients that xanthine derivatives are not quick relief medications for asthma attacks. Due to potential CNS stimulation, administer this medication in the morning when possible.
Side Effects/Adverse Effects: Theophylline can cause nausea, vomiting, CNS stimulation, nervousness, and insomnia.[1]
Health Teaching & Health Promotion: Patients should be sure to take medications as prescribed at appropriate intervals. They should avoid irritants, caffeine, and drink fluids to help thin secretions. Patients will need serum blood levels tested every six to twelve months.[2] Due to potential CNS stimulation, suggest taking this medication in the morning.
Now let’s take a closer look at the medication grid on theophylline in Table 5.14.[3],[4],[5]
Table 5.14 Theophylline Medication Grid
Class/Subclass |
Prototype/Generic |
Nursing Considerations |
Therapeutic Effects |
Side/Adverse Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xanthine | theophylline | Avoid caffeine
Requires evaluation of therapeutic blood level to prevent toxicity Administer this medication in the morning, if possible, due to potential CNS stimulation |
Long-term treatment of chronic asthma and COPD unresponsive to other treatment | GI: Nausea and vomiting
CNS stimulation Nervousness and insomnia |
- Frandsen, G., & Pennington, S. (2018). Abrams’ clinical drug: Rationales for nursing practice (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. ↵
- uCentral from Unbound Medicine. https://www.unboundmedicine.com/ucentral ↵
- This work is a derivative of Pharmacology Notes: Nursing Implications for Clinical Practice by Gloria Velarde licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ↵
- Frandsen, G., & Pennington, S. (2018). Abrams’ clinical drug: Rationales for nursing practice (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. ↵
- This work is a derivative of DailyMed by U.S. National Library of Medicine in the Public Domain. ↵
