Impact of patient satisfaction with his or her inhaler on adherence and asthma control

Background:

Asthma guidelines recommend considering patient preferences for inhaler choice. However, few studies have assessed the impact of patient satisfaction with an inhaler on adherence and health outcomes.

Objective:

To assess the impact of patient satisfaction with an inhaler on adherence and health outcomes in asthma.

Methods:

In a cross-sectional, observational, multicenter study, 778 patients with moderate or severe asthma and who were treated with maintenance inhalers completed a number of scales and questionnaires: the Feeling of Satisfaction with Inhaler (FSI-10) questionnaire, the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication, the Test of Adherence to Inhalers (TAI), the Morisky-Green questionnaire, and the Asthma Control Test (ACT).

Results:

The study population was categorized according to a median FSI-10 score as high (49.4%) and low (50.6%) satisfaction with their inhaler. Logistic regression analysis showed that high specific satisfaction with an inhaler was associated with the younger age group (odds ratio [OR] 0.976 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.965‐0.987]); male gender (OR 1.725 [95% CI 1.187‐2.507]); controlled asthma: ACT score ≥ 20 (OR 1.664 [95% CI 1.133‐2.445]); high general satisfaction with treatment (OR 4.861 [95% CI 3.335‐7.085]); high adherence to inhaler: TAI score ≥ 46 (OR 1.546 [95% CI 1.025‐2.332]); nonsevere asthma (OR 1.056 [95% CI 0.648‐1.721]); and no trouble with inhaler use (OR 0.401 [95% CI 0.174‐0.922]).

Conclusion:

High patient satisfaction with an inhaler, irrespective of received medication, was related to adherence and asthma control. Our results pointed out the relevance of inhaler choice in inhaled therapy; these results could be useful for designing new strategies targeted to increase adherence in patients with asthma.