Asthma patient satisfaction with different dry powder inhalers

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: The preferences and opinions of patients are important when choosing the optimal inhaler device for asthma management. We compared patient satisfaction of three dry powder inhalers in patients with moderate to severe asthma. Methods: We selected a group of patients treated with Easyhaler TM (n = 164) and a second group of patients treated with Turbuhaler TM (n = 100) or Diskus TM (Accuhaler TM ) (n = 64) from the register of an observational, multicenter study. Data of patients were paired according to age, gender, and asthma severity. Patient satisfaction with the inhaler type was assessed with the specific ‘Feeling of Satisfaction with Inhaler’ (FSI-10) questionnaire. Results: Specific satisfaction with inhaler was statistically significantly higher with Easyhaler TM , as well as the percentage of patients with high satisfaction with inhaler. (FSI-10 score ≥43). Scores for Easyhaler TM were also statistically significantly better for individual FSI-10 items such as learning how to use, inhaler preparation, inhaler use, weight and size, and portability. There were no significant differences in asthma control (ACT, Mini-AQLQ) and adherence (TAI global score). Conclusions: Specific satisfaction with inhaler was higher with Easyhaler TM in a homogeneous population of patients with moderate to severe asthma. However, the relationship between satisfaction with the inhaler and adherence and asthma control deserves more investigation.