Abstract
BACKGROUND: COPD guidelines advise on inhaled medication use, yet no advice is offered on when to use and which type of patient could benefit from a specific delivery device. We investigated pulmonologists' perception of their knowledge and practices with delivery devices for COPD management.
METHODS: An online survey was designed by a steering committee of American Thoracic Society clinicians and scientists and conducted by a national market research firm between January 7 and 29, 2016.
RESULTS: Two hundred and five respondents completed the survey. Nearly 80% of the respondents believed that they were very knowledgeable in COPD management and the use of medications; 68% believed that they were knowledgeable about preventing exacerbations. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents stated that they were at least somewhat knowledgeable about devices. Many respondents (70%) stated that small-volume nebulizers were more effective than dry powder inhalers and pressurized metered-dose inhalers in the management of COPD exacerbations, and 63% believed that these were more effective in severe COPD (modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale grade 4). Only 54% of the respondents discussed device options with their patients. Physician screening for physical or cognitive impairments that could impact device choices was 53% and 16%, respectively. Seventy percent of the respondents discussed device use, whereas 9% discussed cleaning and storage during a patient's first visit. Few respondents were very knowledgeable in teaching patients how to use devices (43%) and, specifically, how to use (32%) or clean and/or maintain (20%) small-volume nebulizers.
CONCLUSIONS: Most respondents were confident in their knowledge about treating COPD. Fewer respondents were confident about the use and maintenance of inhalation devices, and most respondents desired to learn more about inhalation devices.
Footnotes
- Correspondence: Sidney S Braman MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustav L Levy Place, Box 1232, New York, NY 10029. E-mail: sidney.braman{at}mssm.edu.
Dr Braman discloses relationships with Mayne Pharma, Covidien, Novartis, Genentech, and AstraZeneca. Dr Carlin discloses relationships with Sunovion, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Philips Respironics, Novartis, and Nonin. Dr Hanania discloses relationships with Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Astra Zeneca, Roche, Teva, Sanofi/Regeneron, Cheisi, and Genentech. Dr Mahler discloses relationships with Mylan Specialty, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Theravance, AstraZeneca UK, Sunovion, and Mayne Pharma. Dr Ohar discloses relationships with AstraZeneca, Novartis, Sunovion, Mylan, and Theravance. Dr Pinto-Plata discloses relationships with AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Mylan. Dr Dhand discloses relationships with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Cipla (India), GlaxoSmithKline and Sunovion. Dr Shah and Mr Eubanks have nothing to disclose.
Financial support for this study was provided to the American Thoracic Society by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals.
The study was performed at American Thoracic Society, New York, New York.
A version of this work was presented by Dr Braman at the American Thoracic Society International Conference, held May 13–18, 2016, in San Francisco, California.
Supplementary material related to this paper is available at http://www.rcjournal.com.
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