npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine (Aug 2024)

Uncovering patterns of inhaler technique and reliever use: the value of objective, personalized data from a digital inhaler

  • Mark L. Levy,
  • Janwillem W. H. Kocks,
  • Sinthia Bosnic-Anticevich,
  • Guilherme Safioti,
  • Michael Reich,
  • Michael Depietro,
  • Mario Castro,
  • Nabeel Farooqui,
  • Njira L. Lugogo,
  • Randall Brown,
  • Tanisha Hill,
  • Thomas Li,
  • Henry Chrystyn

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41533-024-00382-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 34, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Electronic inhalers provide information about patterns of routine inhaler use. During a 12-week study, 360 asthma patients using albuterol Digihaler generated 53,083 inhaler events that were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 41,528 (78%) of the recorded inhalation events were suitable for flow analysis (having a PIF ≥ 18 L/min and <120 L/min). Median PIF, inhalation volume, inhalation duration, and time to PIF for these events steadily decreased between the first and last 10 days of the study, by 5.1%, 12.6%, 15.9%, and 6.4%, respectively. Continuous short-acting beta2-agonist (SABA) overuse, defined as ≥2 SABA inhalations/week throughout the study period, was seen in 29% (n = 104) of patients. Of 260 patients with ≥1 instance of acute short-term SABA overuse, 55 (21%) had a confirmed exacerbation. Electronic recording of real-life inhaler use can capture valuable, objective information that could inform disease management and clinical decision-making.