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. 2017 Dec;3(2):283-296.
doi: 10.1007/s41030-017-0047-1. Epub 2017 Jul 14.

A Retrospective Study of the Effectiveness of the AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu® Antistatic Valved Holding Chamber for Asthma Control

Chakkarin Burudpakdee  1   2 , Vladimir Kushnarev  3 , Dominic Coppolo  4 , Jason A Suggett  3
Affiliations

A Retrospective Study of the Effectiveness of the AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu® Antistatic Valved Holding Chamber for Asthma Control

Chakkarin Burudpakdee et al. Pulm Ther. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: Electrostatic charge in valved holding chambers (VHCs) may lead to inconsistent metered-dose inhaler (MDI) asthma drug delivery. We compared the AeroChamber Plus® Flow Vu® Antistatic Valved Holding Chamber (AC+FV AVHC) with non-antistatic control VHCs in terms of asthma exacerbations, resource use, and cost in an asthma population.

Methods: Patients included in an adjudicated claims database with AC+FV AVHC or non-antistatic VHC (control VHC) use between 1/2010 and 8/2015 (index) who were treated with an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) or a combination of an ICS and a long-acting β2 agonist MDI within 60 days before or after the index date, were diagnosed with asthma, and had ≥12 months of pre- and ≥30 days of post-index health plan enrollment were included. Cohorts were matched 1:1 using propensity scores. We compared incidence rates (IR) of exacerbation, time to first exacerbation using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, occurrence of exacerbations, and healthcare resource use and costs using generalized linear models.

Results: 9325 patients in each cohort were identified. The IR of exacerbations per 100 person-days (95% CI) was significantly higher in the control VHC cohort than the AC+FV AVHC cohort [0.161 (0.150-0.172) vs. 0.137 (0.128-0.147)]. A higher proportion of exacerbation-free patients was observed in the AC+FV AVHC cohort. Among the 4293 patients in each cohort with ≥12 months of follow-up, AC+FV AVHC patients were found to be 10-12% less likely than control VHC patients to experience an exacerbation throughout the study period. A lower proportion of the AC+FV AVHC patients had an ED visit compared to the control VHC patients (10.8% vs. 12.4%). Exacerbation-related costs for the AC+FV AVHC cohort were 23%, 25%, 20%, and 12% lower than those for the control VHC cohort at 1, 6, 9, and 12 months, respectively.

Conclusions: The AC+FV AVHC was associated with lower exacerbation rates, delayed time to first exacerbation, and lower exacerbation-related costs when compared to control non-antistatic VHCs.

Keywords: Asthma; Exacerbations; Spacers; Valved holding chambers.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Kaplan–Meier curve for time to exacerbation
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Moderate-to-severe exacerbations per patient at 30 days, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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