title: Adequacy of inhaler technique used by people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are ongoing concerns to the health system. Poor inhaler technique results in less than optimal delivery of medicine to the lungs and consequent inadequate symptom control.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to assess inhaler technique amongst people with asthma and/or COPD. The secondary aims were to investigate who provided education on inhaler technique and whether age, gender or ethnicity was associated with poor inhaler technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  People with asthma or COPD who presented to a community pharmacy with a prescription for a respiratory inhaler were invited to participate in the study. Participants completed a brief questionnaire and had their inhaler technique assessed against a standard checklist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 103 participants from 26 pharmacies, 86 with asthma and 17 with COPD. Just over half (52.5%) of the assessments indicated good inhaler technique, with 68% of people using the Turbuhaler having good technique compared to 53% for the pressurised metered dose inhaler (pMDI) with spacer and 47% for the pMDI alone. The majority of people (76%) received their initial inhaler technique instruction from their doctor. Over half of participants did not recall having their inhaler technique rechecked.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After prescribing appropriate therapy, correct inhaler technique is a cornerstone of achieving adequate therapy. Rechecking inhaler technique is a gap in care that needs to be addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Tamaki Campus, PO Box 92 012, Auckland, New Zealand. linda@cpsl.biz
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bang
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.forename: Sae Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Baik
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wiseman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D057189:Checklist; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D058995:Dry Powder Inhalers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D036501:Metered Dose Inhalers; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000188:drug therapy*; D055815:Young Adult