Table 1 Principal features of available inhalers
From: The importance of inhaler devices in the treatment of COPD
Device | Type | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
Pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDI’s) | • CFC driven (obsolete) | Portable and compact | Ozone-depleting properties (CFC driven) |
• HFA driven | Independent of inspiratory flow | Better perform with spacers (CFC driven) | |
• Breath-actuated | Reproducible dosing | Need to be shaken prior use (CFC driven) | |
No contamination risk | Require coordination between actuation and inspiration (CFC and HFA driven) | ||
Quick and easy to use | High oropharyngeal deposition | ||
Wide variety of drugs available | Cold Freon effect | ||
Low cost | |||
Dry powder inhalers (DPI’s) | • Single-dose | Portable and compact | Inspiratory flow dependent |
• Multi-dose | Do not require coordination | Poor dose reproducibility | |
• Power-assisted | Quick and easy to use | Affected by environmental factors (i.e. humidity) | |
No spacer required | |||
Soft-mist inhaler | Portable | Dose loading into device | |
Slow velocity aerosol | |||
Long plume duration | |||
Does not require coordination | |||
No propellant | |||
No spacer required | |||
Nebulisers | • Jet | Propellant free | Bulky equipment |
• Vibrating mesh | High patient’s adherence | More complex use | |
• Ultrasonic | Slow velocity aerosol | Power source | |
Requires frequent cleaning |