Different measures of adherence calculated over the 3-month study period with between group and within group comparisons.
| Adherence rate | Month 1 | Month 3 | ||||
| (Bio)feedback | Intensive education | p-value# | (Bio)feedback | Intensive education | p-value¶ | |
| Actual rate | 63±27. 3 | 67±26.4 | 0.57 | 73±24* | 63±26.0 | <0.01 |
| Average adherence from dose counter | 86±24.7 | 92±46.8 | 0.27 | 92±15. 8 | 79±108.4 | 0.20 |
| Attempted rate | 82±18.7 | 78±22.5 | 0.11 | 73±26.2 | 82±18.1 | 0.01 |
| Overdoses | 6±8.7 | 7±10.4 | 0.55 | 3±5.2* | 6±9.0 | 0.02 |
| Missed doses | 18±15.6 | 20±18.0 | 0.39 | 13±13.1 | 18±16.7 | 0.22 |
| Technique error rate | 11±19.2 | 8±18.9 | 0.36 | 11±13.9* | 15±22.5 | 0.12 |
Data are presented as mean±sd, unless stated otherwise. #: comparing (bio)feedback and intensive education for month 1; ¶: comparing (bio)feedback and intensive education for month 3. *: p<0.05, comparing month 1 to month 3. Actual rate incorporates time of use, interval between doses and technique of use. Average adherence is the conventional method of calculating adherence with the dose counter. Attempted rate accounts for the number of times a patient tried to use the inhaler, whereas overdoses and missed doses represent the rates of overdoses and missed doses, respectively, for each month. Technique error rate is the rate of inhaler errors made per month.