Abstract
Background: valved holding chambers are known to be non-interchangeable, but their antistatic counterparts are generally regarded as equally antistatic.
Methods: in this study we test this supposition by measuring the in vitro delivered doses of salbutamol (Ventolin®) and beclomethasone (Qvar®) from five antistatic valved holding chambers (Aerochamber PlusTM Flow-VuTM, Compact Space Chamber PlusTM, InspiraChamberTM, OptiChamber DiamondTM and VortexTM) used without (i.e. ‘rinsed’) and with a detergent coating (i.e. ‘drip dried’).
Results: delivered doses of salbutamol and beclomethasone from the Compact Space Chamber PlusTM and InspiraChamberTM are improved by up to a factor two by drip drying, indicating that the antistatic properties of these antistatic valved holding chambers are suboptimal. Drip drying of the Aerochamber PlusTM Flow-VuTM, OptiChamber DiamondTM and VortexTM on the other hand did not significantly affect the delivered doses of both drugs from these devices, indicating that their antistatic properties are optimal. Of the latter three, the delivered doses from the OptiChamber DiamondTM were consistently lower, which therefore must be caused by differences in its shape or size, or a different functioning of its valve.
Conclusions: some ‘antistatic’ valved holding chambers are only poorly antistatic. As a result, antistatic valved holding chambers are non-interchangeable, which means that switching between them should be discouraged.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2020; 56: Suppl. 64, 3177.
This abstract was presented at the 2020 ERS International Congress, in session “Respiratory viruses in the "pre COVID-19" era”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2020