An online survey of 205 pulmonologists and pulmonology fellows conducted by the American Thoracic Society and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals has found that two thirds of the physicians believe that hand-held nebulizers are superior to both MDIs and DPIs for the treatment of severe COPD, and 70% believe that hand-held nebulizers are superior to either MDIs or DPIs for the management of COPD exacerbations.
Approximately half of those surveyed said that they were extremely or very knowledgeable about delivery devices, and less than a third said that they were extremely or very knowledgeable about which COPD patients should use hand-held nebulizers.
Fewer than 10% of the physicians said that they discuss cleaning and storage of devices with patients, and only about 20% felt confident that they knew proper cleaning and storage procedures.
Sunovion Executive VP and Chief Medical Officer Antony Loebel commented, “Sunovion is committed to improving the lives of people with COPD and other serious medical conditions, and we are proud to partner with ATS on this project. This and the forthcoming patient survey will provide valuable insights into what doctors want to know about using hand-held small volume nebulizers when treating their patients with COPD. We hope that these data will contribute to educational programs, leading to informed treatment decisions and better outcomes for patients.”
Lead author Sidney Braman, Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center said, “We realized there was no baseline information about the level of knowledge and comfort pulmonologists have with using hand-held small volume nebulizers, which inhalation medicines and devices are most appropriate for which patients, or even how comfortable doctors are in educating their patients about their use. We did not know what doctors felt they did and did not know. That’s why this is such a landmark study – it’s foundational.”
Read the ATS/Sunovion press release.
