Comparability of albuterol delivered by a piezoelectric device versus metered dose inhaler in patients with chronic obstructive airways disease.

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been increased interest in developing propellant-free inhalers for the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive airways disease. Various powder inhalators have been developed. A recent alternative to the dose-metered aerosols has been produced using the piezoelectric effect. This double-blind, double-dummy, randomized, dual-dose, four-period crossover study was designed to compare the effect of albuterol inhaled from the piezoelectric device (PED) and albuterol inhaled from the metered dose inhaler (MDI). The primary efficacy variables were forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and area under the curve (AUC). Although we found a statistically significant device effect for the primary efficacy variables, the two treatments (PED [test] and MDI [reference]) are comparable. The only variable for which comparability was not found was time of onset. We found no dose differences. In conclusion, we found a similar effect of albuterol inhaled by a PED versus an MDI in patients with chronic obstructive airways disease.