Abstract

ASSESSMENT OF THE INHALATION TECHNIQUE AND THE IMPACT OF INTERVENTION IN PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA OR CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE IN NEPAL

Manandhar Aastha*, Dr. Malla Pushpa and Upadhyay Nijan

ABSTRACT

Objective: To study the practice of inhalation techniques in patients with Asthma or COPD and to determine the effect of counseling provided through demonstration, leaflets and videos. Materials and methods: A prospective study carried out with ethical consent at out-patient departments of two hospitals. The study was carried out for three months from mid-June 2013 to mid- September 2013. Out of 200 patients intervened, a total of 160 patients (80 from each hospital) visiting the OPD during the study period were selected for the study. Separate inhaler technique checklists were used as research tools for the three inhaler types studied. Results: The inhalation technique of patients was found to be poor; only 45 out of 160 patients were able to perform all the steps correctly before intervention as compared to 147 patients after single intervention. Using T-test (two-tailed) the intervention was found to be highly significant (p < 0.001) irrespective of the type of inhaler. Total mean score before intervention of hospital 1 was higher than that of hospital 2(8.46 ± 1.91& 7.23 ± 1.93; 8.39 ± 2.23 & 6.91 ± 1.92; 7.75 ± 1.70 & 6.41 ± 1.87 for Rotahaler, Revoliser and MDI respectively). Conclusion: Patients of Asthma and COPD still use their inhalers ineffectively. There is significant improvement in the inhalation technique of the patient after training and counseling about their inhaler devices. Thus, proper counseling for the inhaler use in patients must be encouraged as it is directly linked to the quality of life of patient.

Keywords: Asthma, COPD, inhaler technique, intervention.