Abstract
Background: The 2009 American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society report on asthma control states that ß2-agonist use should be presented as “occasion” rather than “puffs” per day (AJRCCM 2009;180:59).
Aim: To report the pattern of ß2-agonist use after the initial “occasion” defined as the first 2 minutes and further use for the next 4 hours.
Methods: ß2-agonist use was determined with an electronic sensor recording date, time and number of puffs. Data were collected at the initial “occasion” and at 10, 60, 120 and 240 minutes after the initial “occasion.”
Results: Data were recorded for 3,373 patients (mean age: 31) from 3/2015 to 2/2017. Patients used ß2-agonists on 56,487 days. At the initial “occasion” 30%, 53%, 9%, 4% and 4% used 1, 2, 3, 4 or ≥ 5puffs, respectively, for a total of 117,450 puffs. The percent of puffs/time period following initial “occasion” stayed consistent over 4 hours as puffs subsequently increased by 21% to 141,586. Figure presents percent of puffs used by time.
Conclusion: Analysis by “occasion” does not fully reveal the variability of ß2-agonist use. Over the 5 time periods studied, 50% of subjects used 2 puffs, and the other 50% used 1 or ≥3 puffs. Differing patterns may reflect variable need, instruction or habit. Use of digital health tools show that puffs/day is a more reliable assessment of ß2-agonist use compared to “occasion” to determine need for rescue or adherence to instructions.
- Copyright ©the authors 2017