Impact of patient satisfaction with his or her inhaler on adherence and asthma control

Background: Asthma guidelines recommend considering patient preferences for inhaler choice. However, few studies have assessed the impact of patient satisfaction with an inhaler on adherence and health outcomes. Objective: To assess the impact of patient satisfaction with an inhaler on adherence and health outcomes in asthma. Methods: In a cross-sectional, observational, multicenter study, 778 patients with moderate or severe asthma and who were treated with maintenance inhalers completed a number of scales and questionnaires: the Feeling of .Satisfaction with Inhaler (FSI-10) questionnaire, the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication, the Test of Adherence to Inhalers (TA I), the Morisky-Green questionnaire, and the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Results: The study population was categorized according to a median FSI-10 score as high (49.4%) and low (50.6%) satisfaction with their inhaler. logistic regression analysis showed that high specific satisfaction with an inhaler was associated with the younger age group (odds ratio [OR] 0.976 195% confidence interval {CI} 0.965-0.9871); male gender (OR 1.725 195% CI 1.187-2.5071); controlled asthma: ACT score 20 (OR 1.664 195% CI 1.133-2.4451); high general satisfaction with treatment (OR 4.861 195% CI 3.335-7.0851); high adherence to inhaler: TAI score 46 (OR 1.546 195% CI 1.025-2.3321); nonsevere asthma (OR 1.056 195% CI 0.648-1.7211); and no trouble with inhaler use (OR 0.401 195% CI 0.174-0.9221). Conclusion: High patient satisfaction with an inhaler, irrespective of received medication, was related to adherence and asthma control. Our results pointed out the relevance of inhaler choice in inhaled therapy; these results could be useful for designing new strategies targeted to increase adherence in patients with asthma.