ArticlePharmacy practice
Identification of inhaler technique errors with a routine procedure in Portuguese community pharmacy.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Medication errors in community pharmacies: a systematic review of the international literature.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Promoting Community Pharmacy Practice for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Management: A Systematic Review and Logic Model.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of pharmacist-led intervention in medication adherence and inhaler usage on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease control: a quasi-experimental study.BMC health services research · 2024Trial
- Pharmacist's knowledge, attitude, and practice toward proper inhaler technique.Journal of public health research · 2025Article
- Inhaler use technique course: an effective postgraduate training solution for pharmacists to enhance therapeutic outcomes as part of patient education.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- An evaluation of the use of inhalers in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences · 2023Article
- Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of a standardized training model for improving patients' ability to use inhalers.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Inhaled Drug Therapy-Associated Adverse Reactions in Obstructive Respiratory Diseases: A Review of a Decade of Reporting to the Portuguese Pharmacovigilance System.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Patient's treatment burden related to care coordination in the field of respiratory diseases.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2021Review
- Repetitive instructions at short intervals contribute to the improvement of inhalation technique.Asia Pacific allergy · 2020Article
- A comparative analysis of errors in inhaler technique among COPD versus asthma patients.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseObservational
- Use of secret simulated patient followed by workshop based education to assess and improve inhaler counseling in community pharmacy in Jordan.Pharmacy practiceArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA correct selection of drugs prescribed, but also the choice of the appropriate inhaler device, is crucial for the control of respiratory diseases.
objectiveTo evaluate the inhaler technique and identify potential errors of patients when treated with inhalers by testing a routinary procedure to be implemented in any community pharmacy.
methodsAdults with asthma/COPD and under inhalation therapy were invited to demonstrate how they use their inhalers. After direct observation it was registered whether all the sequential steps included in the summary of product characteristics (SmPC) were performed.
resultsThe study involved 67 patients from 4 community pharmacies (Portugal central region): 34 (50.7%) males, 65.4 (SD=18.28) years old, 42 (62.7%) with COPD, and 23 (34.3%) using more than one inhaler. The 67 patients used 95 inhalers, comprising: 57 (60.0%) multiple dose DPI (dry powder inhalers), 18 (18.9%) single dose DPI, 16 (16.8%) pMDI (pressurized metered dose inhalers), 2 (2.1%) pMDI+spacer and 2 (2.1%) SMI (soft mist inhalers). No errors were made only by 9 (13.4%) patients. In the 75 DPIs techniques, the most frequent errors were 'no previous forced expiration' (46=61.3%) and 'no 10s apnea after inhalation' (51=68.0%); in the 16 pMDIs techniques common errors were 'lack of hand-lung coordination' (7=43.8 %), 'no previous forced exhalation' (8=50.0%) and 'no apnea after inhalation' (10=62.5%). After inhaling from 56 devices containing corticosteroids, 34 (60.7%) of the patients did not wash their mouth.
conclusionThe study demonstrated the possibility of performing this procedure routinely in Portuguese community pharmacies and also its utility, since 58 (87%) of patients had at least one error during the inhalers use.
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