: A COPD patient is admitted with pneumonia. He is not able to produce his usual amount of sputum. The patient states that when he does cough up sputum, it is very thick and yellow. Upon auscultation, you note that he has expiratory rhonchi bilaterally and crackles over the right middle and lower lobes. He is already receiving aerosol treatments with albuterol and ipratropium bromide. He is also on antibiotics. • What other medication may to reduce the viscosity of this patient’s sputum? • What other therapies and recommendations do you have for this patient? • What would you tell this patient concerning systemic hydration?