Patients’ perspectives and preferences in the choice of inhalers: the case for Respimat® or HandiHaler&reg

Pieter Nicolaas Richard Dekhuijzen,1 Federico Lavorini,2 Omar S Usmani3 1Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; 2Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy; 3National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London and Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK Abstract: Poor inhaler technique hampers the efficacy of drug therapy in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Not only does this affect individual patient care, but it also impacts on the wider health care economics associated with these conditions. Treatment guidelines recommend a systematic approach to drug class selection; however, standardization of inhaler selection is currently difficult owing to the complexity of the interaction between the inhaler device and the patient. Specifically, individual patient preference can influence how successful a treatment is overall. This article reviews inhaler devices from the patient perspective, with a particular focus on the dry powder inhaler HandiHaler® and Respimat® Soft Mist™ Inhaler. It discusses factors that influence device preference and treatment compliance and reviews tools that can aid health care professionals to better match inhaler devices to individual patients’ needs. Keywords: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inhaler technique, Soft Mist™ Inhaler, tiotropium Respimat®, tiotropium HandiHaler®