Repetitive instructions at short intervals contribute to the improvement of inhalation technique

Inhaled medicines are key drugs for the treatment of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the variety of inhaler devices and complicated inhalation procedures have created confusion among patients, affecting their correct understanding of inhalation. Recent studies reported that up to 80% of patients made technical errors in inhalation and emphasized the necessity for patient education.

We aimed to assess the importance of inhalation-related instructions and to find clinical factors associated with improvements in the inhalation technique.

We conducted a retrospective, single-center study at a regional core hospital in Japan. Physicians and community pharmacists constructed an interactive instruction system and shared a common inhalation procedure manual. Patients who received instructions for the inhalation technique at least 3 times were recruited.

A total of 125 patients were analyzed in this study. The median age was 73 years (interquartile range, 67-80 years). At the second visit, 67 patients (53.6%) failed to correctly perform the technique despite being guided at the first visit. At the third visit, 48.8% of patients made some errors. After excluding 40 patients who were not subjected to analysis, the remaining 85 were divided into "improvement" and "no-improvement" groups. The total improvement rate was 57.6%. The median time interval between consecutive instructions in the "improvement" groups was 84 days, whereas that in the "no-improvement" group was 128 days (p < 0.05, U test). No significant difference in the age, sex, or primary disease was seen between these groups.

Repetitive instructions at shorter intervals may be helpful for patients to develop and maintain an improved inhalation technique.