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Volume 13 Issue 6 (June) 2024

Original Articles

Appropriateness of Inhalational Therapy use among Children with Bronchial Asthma: Experience of a Tertiary Care Center
Dr. Punita Kumari, Dr. Chandan Kumar Singh, Dr. (Prof) Hemant Kumar

Background and Objectives: Inhalational therapy is beyond doubt the mainstay of treatment in children suffering from bronchial asthma. However, the use of inhalational therapy needs proper evaluation as poor handling of such devices and wrong inhalation technique are associated with decreased delivery of the drug and hence poor disease control. It is therefore important to study the drawbacks in inhalation technique and factors associated with incorrect usage of these medical devices by children or their caregivers. Methods: We conducted this prospective observational study over a period of 2 years from January 2022 to December 2023 at O.P.D and Emergency of Pediatrics deptt at P.M.C.H, Patna including children of age 5-16 years with Bronchial asthma who were using inhalational devices for atleast one month. Result: 197 children were enrolled over the 2-year study period. Mean age of the study population was 6.94±2,53 years. Male: Female ratio was 1.3:1. Mean age at diagnosis was 6.27±2.21 years. Mean duration of using the inhalational device was 6.13±1.79 months. Overall, only 32% were getting inhalational therapy properly. MDI was the commonest device being used (61%) followed by nebulizer (22.8%). However, MDI was also the most commonly improperly used inhalational device (77.5%). Whereas, children receiving nebulization therapy were subjected to the least number of errors (44.4%). The most common error in MDI was failure to shake the MDI, in DPI/Rotahaler it was inadequate breath accentuation and in nebulization it was poor fitting of the mask. Rate of error was the least when the educator was a doctor (n=77, 62%) followed by nurses (n=33, 75%) and maximum with pharmacists (n=24, 82.7%). In univariate analysis, following were found to significantly increase the risk of erroneous use: atleast one parent being illiterate, low socioeconomic status, inhabitation in rural area, training about usage by personnel other than a Doctor and device usage for <3 months. Conclusion: Majority of the children (68%) were not correctly getting inhalational therapy properly. Proper education to patients/parents on correct usage may not only improve control of the symptoms of the disease but might also allow dose reduction in the long term.

 
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