Inhaler Review in Older Adults with Asthma or COPD: A Cost-Effectiveness Study and a Perspective in Portugal.

Objectives: Older patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are particularly susceptible to exacerbations that may be associated with incorrect use of inhalers. Educational programs with inhaler technique review seem to be effective, but no studies have addressed their cost-effectiveness in older adult patients. The objective was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of education programs in older patients and estimate the cost benefit of applying such a program in Portugal.

Inhaler technique education in elderly patients with asthma or COPD: impact on disease exacerbations-a protocol for a single-blinded randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)and asthma affect more than 10% of the population. Most patients use their inhaler incorrectly, mainly the elderly, thereby becoming more susceptible to poor clinical control and exacerbations. Placebo device training is regarded as one of the best teaching methods, but there is scarce evidence to support it as the most effective one to improve major clinical outcomes.

Quality of life in asthmatic outpatients.

Asthma patients incur a great cost in terms of loss of quality of life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relative contribution and relationship of several patient- and disease-related factors, measured by several variables, to the quality of life in adults with asthma. Two hundred and ten asthmatic outpatients over 18 years old, registered in a Family Health Unit, were randomly selected to complete the Asthma Quality of Life (AQLQ) and Short Form Generic questionnaires (SF-36), respectively.