A study published online in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Benefits on August 20, 2015 found that approximately 90% of adult cystic fibrosis patients surveyed preferred using a dry powder inhaler to using a standard nebulizer if the cost is the same. On average, the patients said that they would be willing to give up 5.3 years of life, out of an expected 40 years, to use a DPI instead of a nebulizer.
Researchers surveyed 73 adult CF patients treated at Boston Children’s Hospital between August 2013 and October 2013. All of the patients had been treated with nebulized solutions to combat P. aeruginosa lung infections.
The authors note that adherence to nebulized treatment among CF patients is low, in part due to delivery time required for a standard nebulizer of up to 70 minutes per day and the weight of standard nebulizers. The survey did not include an option for smaller, lighter nebulizers.
Funding for the study was provided by Novartis, whose TOBI Podhaler DPI was approved by the FDA in 2013 and was launched in the UK in 2011.
Read the study.
