Source: Annual Congress 2003 - Assessing airway function: practicalities and clinical applications
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

The assessment for suitability for this treatment usually rely upon the response to lung function tests. There is usually little emphasis on the patient’s own view of this form of treatment. The responses to treatment of patients being assessed for long term nebuliser therapy were identified using simple spirometry and a COPD Symptom and the LCADL questionnaire. Spirometry was performed prior to assessment and acutely following nebuliser administration and at review following 6 weeks of therapy. Questionnaires were reported prior to and following a six week course of therapy. 30 patients with COPD were assessed for nebuliser therapy. The mean FEV₁ was 0.89 Litres (0.311) with a mean FVC of 2.15 (0.74) Litres. Only 5 patients showed a significant response to acute nebuliser administration according to the BTS COPD guidelines. There was a significant decrease in the symptoms associated with COPD during the nebuliser trail period (Cumulative symptom score prior to therapy 47.4 (6.4), nebuliser trial 34.3 (9.5); p<-0.001). In addition there was a reduction in the degree of breathlessness caused by daily activities from a score of 49.3 (8.3) to 35.9 (7.3), p<0.001). There was no relationship between decreasing COPD symptom scores and any increase in FEV₁ (correlation coefficient –0.138) or FVC (correlation coefficient 0.045). These results suggest that patients with COPD show an improvement in their symptoms with nebuliser therapy despite the absence of a significant change in FEV₁ or FVC.

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Citations should be made in the following way:
R. Carter, J. Stenhouse, A. Oliver, S. W. Banham (Glasgow, United Kingdom). Domiciliary nebuliser treatment: How should we assess the response to treatment?. Eur Respir J 2003; 22: Suppl. 45, 3622

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