Switching to dry powder inhaler more than halves carbon footprint of asthma treatment without asthma worsening<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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TUESDAY, Feb. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Switching from a pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI)-based to a dry powder inhaler (DPI)-based maintenance therapy reduces environmental impacts and does not worsen asthma control for patients with asthma, according to a study published online Feb. 7 in Thorax<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ashley Woodcock, M.D., from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and colleagues performed a post-hoc analysis on data for a subset of patients from the Salford Lung Study in Asthma to compare the effects of switching from a pMDI-based to a DPI-based maintenance therapy on asthma control and greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis included 1,081 patients who switched from pMDI to DPI and 1,155 who continued their usual care treatment.<\/p>\n The researchers found that annual greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide equivalents kg per patient) for maintenance plus rescue therapy was significantly lower with fluticasone furoate\/vilanterol (FF\/VI) DPI treatment (the switch group) versus usual care (least squares geometric mean, 108 kg versus 240 kg). The FF\/VI DPI treatment group also had consistently superior asthma control during the 12 months compared with usual care.<\/p>\n “Each puff of a [metered dose inhaler] is equivalent to driving one mile in a family car, so one inhaler is close to driving 200 miles\u00e2\u0080\u00a6 but a powdered inhaler is about a twentieth of that,” Woodcock said in a statement. “Essentially this is about evolution, not revolution. In discussion with patients, health care professionals should have a conversation about the environmental footprint of their inhalers.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to GlaxoSmithKline, which funded the study.<\/p>\n