Abstract

Drugs used for inhaled therapies are based on the use of topics corticosteroids and known as “metered dose inhalers” (MDI). They are the cornerstone of the pharmacologic treatment of certain respiratory diseases. It is widely described that the success or failure of this pharmacotherapy is determined by a variety of factors, such as adherence and inhalation technique. So, the purpose of this work was to assess the adherence and inhalation technique in paediatric outpatients and/or their caregivers of Exequiel González Cortés Hospital in Chile. To evaluate the degree of knowledge and adherence, a questionnaire was developed and applied to patients and/or caregivers. The instrument had 15 questions, apart for question 11, all the questions were posed in a dichotomous way, to systematize the data register. Once the questionnaire was ready, a prospective cross-sectional study was carried out surveying 85 people. Of these, 82 interviews were correctly conducted and included in the analysis. Of the patients using inhalers, 57,3% were male, with a mean age of 6,7±4,6 years. Most of caregivers interviewed were female, and 86,3% turned out to be the mother of the patients. The adherence reported in this survey was 30,4% and 89% were declared “knowledgeable” of the inhalation technique. This work determined that patients have basic knowledge about inhalation technique, but there are still important gaps in it. Additionally, there is an adherence rate that has a wide margin for improvement.

Keywords

metered dose inhalers, pediatrics, respiratory tract diseases, adherence, inhalation technique