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Evidence summaries

Pressurised Metered Dose Inhalers Versus other Inhaler Devices to Deliver Beta-2 Agonists in Asthma

There are no significant differences for any important outcomes between standard CFC containing pMDI and other devices in the delivery of beta-2 agonist for non-acute asthma. Level of evidence: "A"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 84 studies. Few studies could be combined to assess a specific outcome for a given delivery device comparison. There were no differences between a standard CFC containing pMDI and any other device for most outcomes. Regular use of HFA-pMDI containing salbutamol reduces the requirement for short courses of oral corticosteroids (3 trials, 519 patients: RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.91). However, the total number of exacerbations was unchanged (3 trials, 1271 patients: RR 1.0, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.33).

    References

    • Ram FS, Brocklebank DM, White J, Wright JP, Jones PW. Pressurised metered dose inhalers versus all other hand-held inhaler devices to deliver beta-2 agonist bronchodilators for non-acute asthma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2002;(1):CD002158. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords