Convincing patients to use smarter, greener inhalers for asthma management

+Summer Hiatus

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Convincing patients to use smarter, greener inhalers for asthma management

Linda Bryant

Monday 3 January 2022, 09:00 AM

John says he needs his blue inhaler to help him breathe better when playing rugby

We are on our summer break and the editorial office is closed until 17 January. In the meantime, please enjoy our Summer Hiatus series, an eclectic mix from our news and clinical archives and articles from The Conversation throughout the year. This article was first published in the 21 July edition

With the cold blast of winter, there is the usual rush of people with asthma wanting their inhalers. It is also a good time to review asthma control and discuss the suitability of the relatively new approach to managing mild asthma

Linda Bryant

This article has been endorsed by the RNZCGP and has been approved for up to 0.25 CME credits for the General Practice Educational Programme and conti, Educate small

Respiratory Health

Medicines and Therapies

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References

Beasley R, Beckert L, Fingleton J, et al. Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ adolescent and adult asthma guidelines 2020: a quick reference guide. NZ Med J 2020;133(1517):73–99.

Reddel HK, FitzGerald JM, Bateman ED, et al. GINA 2019: a fundamental change in asthma management: Treatment of asthma with short-acting bronchodilators alone is no longer recommended for adults and adolescents. Eur Respir J 2019;53(6):1901046.

Bryant L, Bang C, Chew C, et al. Adequacy of inhaler technique used by people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. J Prim Health Care 2013;5(3):191–98.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Patient decision aid: Inhalers for asthma. May 2019. https://bit.ly/2Ek0CPo

Summer Hiatus archive

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Apr	May	June
July	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

How to Treat

+How to treat

Polypharmacy

For older people and frail people, the long-term benefit of medicines reduces and the potential for harm from adverse effects increases. When the benefit–risk balance changes in this way, medicine review and optimisation are important to simplify the therapeutic regimen, reduce inappropriate medicines and minimise risks. In this article, pharmacist prescriber Linda Bryant uses two case studies to illustrate important considerations during medicine reviews

Wednesday 28 May 2025, 12:50 AM