Efficacy of Inhalational Devices Utilization and Quality of Life in Mild to Severe Asthma

Introduction: Asthma is an extensive term which refers the disorders of respiratory system that commonly leads to episodic difficulty in breathing. It is a chronic disease whose symptoms are well known and still the management is quite difficult. Effectiveness of the inhalational devices as well as the quality of life of asthmatic patients were determined through the current study. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of inhalational devices in asthmatic patients and their quality of life. Objective: To study the effectiveness of different types of inhalational devices in asthmatic patient, to observe the quality of life using questionnaire and spirometer and to educate the use of inhaler devices. Methodology: A randomized interventional study was conducted with the selected asthma patients over a period of 6 months in the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Pariyaram Medical College, Kannur, Kerala. The severities of the patients were estimated using the spirometer. Results: A total of 75 patients had completed the study, 22 (29 %) were male and 53 (71 %) were female and majority of the patients were non-smokers (84 %), followed by smokers (12 %) and ex-smokers (4 %). The FEV1 baseline value of MDI was found to be 1.88 L and at the end of 60th day follow up, the patient had shown 0.9 L improvement in lung function compared to other two devices. The patients who received inhalational devices after counseling showed clinical improvement in symptom score on the 15th day, the further follow- up days showed very good clinical significance. Conclusion: Appropriate education regarding the use of MDI is helpful in improving the pulmonary function and HRQoL of the patients. It reveals that patients using MDI shows more effectiveness than other inhalational devices after providing adequate counseling. We conclude that proper education on the usage of MDI can clinically and statistically improve the quality of life of moderate to severe asthmatic patients.