Metal and plastic inhalers equal for asthma in kids

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Although NebuChamber, a metal inhaler device, may deliver more aerosolized drug to children with asthma, it is no more effective than Aerochamber, a plastic device, at controlling asthma symptoms, new research shows.

The NebuChamber “has gained wide acceptance among children with asthma,” Dr. Israel Amirav, of Seiff Hospital Safed, Israel, and colleagues write in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Moreover, NebuChamber has been shown to deliver a “greater mass of aerosol” to the mouth compared with AeroChamber.

Still, it was unclear if NebuChamber was actually better than AeroChamber at reducing asthma symptoms.

To investigate, Amirav’s team conducted a trial involving 35 preschool children with mild-to-moderate asthma. The participants received the steroid drug budesonide, administered twice daily with either NebuChamber or AeroChamber.

A total of 30 children completed the study. Both devices were comparable in their ability to reduce symptoms as well as the need for additional asthma drugs.

Parents reported similar ease of use, design, acceptability by children, and overall satisfaction with both devices. “However, when asked at the end of the study which (device) they would like to continue with, 66 percent chose the NebuChamber,” Amirav and colleagues note.

They say this might have been because parents perceived the NebuChamber “as a new or more ‘substantial’ stainless steel device.”

SOURCE: Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, September 2004.

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