| Summary: | Xin Tan,1,* Shanling Liu,2,* Li Huang,3 Ying Wu,2 Long Wen,4 Jiheng Liu,5 Yuling Tang,4 Xiaohui Liu6 1Department of Pediatric, The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pharmacy, Zhuzhou Central Hospital, Zhuzhou, 412007, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Hematology & Oncology, The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Pharmacy, The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiaohui Liu, The First Hospital of Changsha, Department of Pharmacy, 311 Yingpan Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, 410005, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 731 84667573, Fax +86 731 84667680, Email gcys2021@126.comPurpose: Long-acting inhalers are the mainstay maintenance therapy for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management. The aim of this study was to assess adherence to inhalers among adults with COPD in China and to develop strategies to improve adherence for the next step.Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 246 adult patients with COPD using long-acting inhalers to explore different demographic characteristics, disease characteristics and medication regimens. Adherence to inhalers was assessed using the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS).Results: Among the 246 patients included in the present study, 93 (37.80%) had good adherence, while 153 (62.20%) had poor adherence. From the comparison of patients with good and poor adherence, we found that the course of disease and education background had a significant effect on adherence (p < 0.05). Among the LAMA therapy group, inhaled tiotropium bromide spray (Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany) with active release technology had better adherence than inhaled tiotropium bromide powder (Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany) (p < 0.05). Moreover, COPD patients with good adherence had better pulmonary function and fewer moderate or severe exacerbations in the past year (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The factors affecting the use of inhalers in patients with stable COPD are complicated. Medical staff should select appropriate inhalers according to the patient’s disease status and duration and provide medication education to improve adherence.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inhalers, adherence, duration of illness
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