A comparison of three means of pressurized aerosol inhaler use.

The bronchodilator response to 200 micrograms of fenoterol hydrobromide using 3 different methods of inhalation from a pressurized aerosol metered-dose inhaler, was studied in 13 asthmatic patients. On 4 separate days and in random order, patients received either placebo aerosol or fenoterol aerosol delivered by the patients' own technique, delivered under supervision by a trained member of our staff, and delivered with a spacer device (Aerochamber) attached to the pressurized canister. There was no significant difference in the response to the 3 methods of active drug administration, but there was a significant difference (p less than 0.05) from the placebo control values. Thus, in this group of asthmatics the patients' own method of inhalation, using the standard dose of 200 micrograms of fenoterol from a pressurized aerosol metered-dose inhaler, appears to be as effective a means of bronchodilation as the other techniques used in this study.