Trial reportBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2026
Hair analysis of formoterol as a novel tool to assess long-term inhalation medication adherence: Data from the TRICOLON trial.
Trial report in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Hair analysis of formoterol as a novel tool to assess long-term inhalation medication adherence: Data from the TRICOLON trial.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Trial
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Authors and funding
20 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimThe aim of this paper is to examine inhaled formoterol concentrations in hair and assess the potential of hair analysis as a tool for measuring long-term adherence, by validation with objective data from digital inhalers.
methodsHair samples and digital inhaler data were collected from patients with COPD in 10 hospitals in the Netherlands as part of the TRICOLON trial. Hair samples were divided into three 1 cm segments, each representing 1 month of hair growth. Intra-patient variability was investigated. Correlations between formoterol concentrations and digitally measured inhalations were assessed. Hair colour, dyeing, sex, body mass index (BMI) and smoking status were examined for their association and effect modification.
resultsOf the 96 patients who provided a hair sample, 49 had sufficient quality hair sample and digital data. Low intra-patient variability was observed (intraclass correlation coefficient .94, 95% CI 0.87-0.97). Over a 3-month period, a trend was observed in the correlation between the digitally recorded inhalations and hair formoterol concentration (correlation coefficient [r] = .25, p = .087). Regarding individual segments, a significant correlation was only found in the segment closest to the scalp (r = .30, p = .039). Higher formoterol concentrations were measured in dark hair and in those with a lower BMI. No effect modification by colour, dyeing, sex, BMI or smoking was observed.
conclusionLow intra-patient variability of hair formoterol concentrations was observed in patients with stable adherence. However, inter-patient variability and external factors may limit the correlation between formoterol concentrations in hair and adherence measured by a digital inhaler and thus the current utility of hair analysis as an adherence monitoring tool.
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