Abstract

A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF DOSE COUNTER INHALERS ON ADHERENCE IN ASTHMA PATIENTS

Meenu Elsa Saji*, Nikhitha Anne*, Simi Susan Sam*, Emily James, Mathew Ninan, Santhosh M. Mathews

ABSTRACT

Asthma is defined as the condition which occurs due to inflammation of the air passages in the lungs and affects the sensitivity of the nerve endings in the airways so they become easily irritated. The treatment of choice in asthma is generally MDI. There are several other study literatures related to asthma. Most of the studies are mere epidemiological surveys. The role of pharmacist and assessment of adherence in patients using dose counter inhalers is limited. Our study focuses on evaluating and comparing the adherence among patients using inhalers with dose counters and those using inhalers without dose counters. A prospective, observational study was conducted. A total of 140 patients were selected using inhaler and equally divided into two groups. 70 patients using inhaler without dose counter included in group 1 and 70 patients using inhaler with dose counter included in group 2. Both groups were given counselling by the clinical pharmacist on the proper inhaler usage techniques. The patients were analyzed for adherence. On comparing both groups, the patients in group 2 using dose counter inhaler had increased adherence. The test was found to be significant with H-statistic=52.2835 and p value <0.0001. The result of the study shows that the use of dose counter inhaler improved the adherence in asthma patients.

Keywords: Asthma, Adherence, Dose counter inhalers, Patient counselling