Published online August 1, 2005
PEDIATRICS Vol. 116 No. 2 August 2005, pp. 563-564 (doi:10.1542/peds.2005-0698III)

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SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE

How Do Patients Determine That Their Metered-Dose Inhaler Is Empty?

Mary Beth Bollinger, DO

Baltimore, MD

Rubin BK, Durotoye L. Chest. 2004;126:1134–1137

	Purpose of the Study.

TOP Purpose of the Study. Study Population. Methods. Results. Conclusions. Reviewer's Comments.

 
To evaluate how patients determine that their metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) are empty and to measure doses available of MDIs in different laboratory conditions.

	Study Population.

TOP Purpose of the Study. Study Population. Methods. Results. Conclusions. Reviewer's Comments.

 
Fifty consecutive patients attending a pediatric asthma center at Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC).

	Methods.

TOP Purpose of the Study. Study Population. Methods. Results. Conclusions. Reviewer's Comments.

 
Fifty new pediatric patients and their caregivers who used MDIs regularly were asked the question "How do you know when it is time to replace your inhaler?" and then were asked to elaborate on their answers. For the second part of the study, samples of MDIs (Flovent, Serevent, albuterol, and Qvar) were obtained from the manufacturers and studied in the laboratory. They evaluated the MDIs to determine how many actuations could be emitted and obtained weights during the process. They evaluated the usefulness of floating the MDIs in water to determine if they were full or empty, as has been suggested in the past for tracking the content of MDIs.

	Results.

TOP Purpose of the Study. Study Population. Methods. Results. Conclusions. Reviewer's Comments.

 
The survey revealed that 72% of subjects determined that their MDI was empty when they could no longer hear a sound when actuated. Another 20% said they replaced it when it was "old" without giving specific details, although most said "within a month or so" or "after a while." Four patients stated that they were told to float their MDI in water to determine if it was full (sinks to the bottom) or empty (floats), although none had actually done it. The majority (78%) said that they knew they were supposed to shake the MDI before using it, but only half shook the MDI when their technique was evaluated later. In the laboratory, MDIs had similar flotation patterns, with mean flotation angles of 27.6 to 31.7° when empty. Water obstructed the valve or collected near the valve during this procedure 27% of the time. The chlorofluorocarbon inhalers (Flovent, Serevent, and albuterol) had a mean of 86% more audible puffs and Qvar 54% more than the stated manufacturer actuations. Shaking the MDI before actuation increased the doses available for the chlorofluorocarbon inhalers significantly.

	Conclusions.

TOP Purpose of the Study. Study Population. Methods. Results. Conclusions. Reviewer's Comments.

 
Most patients studied did not know how to tell if their MDI was empty, and many did not shake the MDI before actuation, which can limit the amount of drug delivered. These results may in part explain the poor adherence with refills for MDIs, because patients may not realize that they are not receiving a full dose of active drug (because all of the MDIs studied had significantly more actuations than noted on the canister), which the authors termed "pseudo-adherence." The only way to truly track the number of remaining doses in MDIs is to count each dose. Most MDIs will emit more drug doses if the device is shaken before actuation. Floating MDIs in water is not accurate for assessing remaining doses and often will clog the valve.

	Reviewer’s Comments.

TOP Purpose of the Study. Study Population. Methods. Results. Conclusions. Reviewer's Comments.

 
This article demonstrates one of the limitations of MDIs in the inability of patients to accurately assess when they are empty without counting each dose. It illustrates the need for better devices to track doses remaining (an advantage of dry-powder inhalers).

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PEDIATRICS (ISSN 1098-4275). ©2005 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

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