[Inhaled corticosteroid therapy in mild and moderate persistent asthma. Acceptability of a new inhalation system: the jet].

The objectives of this study were to assess the acceptability and efficacy of Jet (a metered dose inhaler with a 100 ml chamber giving 250 micrograms beclomethasone dipropionate per puff) in patients with mild to moderate asthma using a dose-for-dose schedule in substitution for their standard metered dose inhaler with or without an inhalation chamber. An open trial was conducted over 5 weeks in 356 asthma patients treated with inhaled corticosteroids at a mean 914 +/- 198 micrograms/24 h dose. beta 2-agonists were used by all patients, either systematically (prescription) or as needed. Prior to the study, 27% of the patients used a standard metered dose inhaler with a large-volume inhalation chamber and 73% used a standard metered dose inhaler alone. The rate of nocturnal, early morning, and diurnal symptoms and cough decreased by 31.4, 33.4, 46.9, and 37.0% respectively and the variability of peak expiratory flow rate fell from 2 +/- 0.08% to 0.9 +/- 0.02% in the group using the metered dose inhaler with the chamber and from 1.3 +/- 0.04 to 0.5 +/- 0.01% in the group using the standard metered dose inhaler. The investigators determined that treatment efficacy was good or excellent in 94.8%. These findings should be confirmed by studies comparing Jet directly with other inhalation chamber systems or with standard metered dose inhalers. For 97.5% of the patients, it was easy to learn to use Jet and 88.2% of the patients felt no discomfort when using Jet; 64.8% of the patients stated they experienced clinical improvement. At the end of the trial, 77.9% of the patients (76.3% of those who used the inhalation chamber during the study and 78.4% of those who used the metered dose inhaler alone) stated they preferred Jet over their prior system.