Protocol for the recommendation of mucolítics in the community pharmacy

The exclusion of mucolytic drugs from [public] health funding provides a dangreat opportunity for the community pharmacist to recommend them in all consultations by patients with processes that affect the respiratory system in which there is increased mucus or a variation in its rheological characteristics (existence of pathological mucus). The pharmacist may recommend a mucolytic treatment for not only flu and colds. In this piece of work, we will see, after going over the anatomy and characteristics of the respiratory system, other situations in which their recommendation is fully justified. To do this, we will review the pathological processes of the respiratory system in which the use of mucolytics is advisable and should be recommended. We will also offer a review and comparison of the different main active ingredients and pharmaceutical forms, to know which one we should recommend to our patients in each specific case. Finally, a protocol for the pharmaceutical recommendation of mucolytics in the community pharmacy is proposed.