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Pressure gradient and inspiratory times required for valve opening of various holding chambers

Rosane Reginato1, Sergio Luis Amantea, Rita Krumenauer

  • 1Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. rosane@medicallis.com.br

Allergy and Asthma Proceedings
|March 29, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Many infants struggle to generate adequate inspiratory pressure to operate holding chamber valves. This study highlights the need to assess children's ability to use these devices before prescription.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Respiratory Device Engineering

Background:

  • Holding chambers are crucial for delivering medication to infants with respiratory conditions.
  • Effective use of holding chambers depends on the infant's ability to generate sufficient inspiratory pressure to open the device's valve.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the inspiratory pressure gradient generated by infants to open unidirectional valves in various commercial holding chambers.
  • To determine the time required for infants to achieve this pressure gradient.
  • To assess the performance consistency across different holding chamber devices.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective, cross-sectional study involving 80 healthy infants aged 1-24 months.
  • Four commercially available holding chambers (Flumax Baby, AlergoChamber, LuftChamber, ACE) were tested.
  • Inspiratory pressure gradient and time to valve opening were measured using standardized inhalation techniques.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences were observed in the inspiratory pressure gradient or time to valve opening among the four holding chambers.
  • Approximately 19% (15 out of 80) of the infants were unable to generate sufficient inspiratory pressure to open the holding chamber valves.
  • Device-specific differences in infant success rates for opening valves were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

  • Commercial holding chambers demonstrate similar performance in terms of pressure gradient and valve opening time.
  • A significant proportion of infants under 24 months may not be able to effectively use standard holding chambers.
  • Pre-prescription assessment of an infant's ability to operate holding chamber valves is recommended to ensure optimal therapeutic outcomes.

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