Pharmacy recruited Objective Management of Inhaler Technique (POMIT-1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does community pharmacy training of patients with asthma to make a inhalation that last 5 seconds when they use their metered dose inhaler improve their asthma control. : POMIT-1 (Pharmacy recruited Objective Management of Inhaler Technique).
IRAS ID
200013
Contact name
Henry Chrystyn
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Prestwich Pharmacy Ltd
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
Aerosol inhalers are the mainstay of treatment for patients with asthma, a condition which continues to represent a significant economic burden all over the world. Inhalers are used for both prevention of an asthma “attack“ and to treat its symptoms. When used properly, inhalers are extremely effective, allowing the active drug to be deposited directly into the lung. This means they work quickly with a reduced risk of side effects often attributed to similar medicines taken by mouth or injection. A recurring problem with aerosol inhalers, however, is that many patients find it difficult to use them correctly which means that they don’t get the full benefit of the medicine. Poor inhaler technique may lead to needless increases in prescribed dosage, wastage and in the longer term, deterioration of symptoms and increased hospital admissions. Currently, problems may be arising due to the ambiguous instructions appearing on patient information leaflets which describe the inhalation to be used as ’a slow and deep inhalation’. Interpretation of this subjective description varies. A small research carried out recently has shown that a simple and highly effective way of overcoming this problem is for patients to inhale their medication over 5 seconds. This objective instruction defines the slow and deep inhalation that should be used. With around 13,000 community pharmacies in the UK, pharmacists are at the front line in the management of inhaler use in asthma. This study will look at how effective this new advice is at improving inhaler technique in a real world healthcare environment and when incorporated into training given by a pharmacist. This new method of inhaler training will be evaluated by taking objective, unbiased measurements how each patient inhales through their inhaler. This will then be compared with any observations of improving / worsening symptoms or good poor response to treatment.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0141
Date of REC Opinion
19 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion