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Monitor improved drug adherence in children with asthma

Children with asthma were more likely to comply with drug regimens when given an inhaler device with an audiovisual reminder function, according to recent study results.

“Use of an electronic monitoring device with an in-built audiovisual reminder significantly improved adherence in school-aged children with asthma, with corresponding improvements in several indicators of asthma control, although we did not note any effects on absences from school,” Amy Chan, BPharm, of the University of Auckland and colleagues wrote.

Amy Chan

Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial in patients with asthma aged 6 to 15 years who attended the ED in Auckland, New Zealand, from May 2010 to February 2012. The researchers randomly assigned patients to receive an enabled electronic monitoring device (SmartTrack, Nexus6) for use with their inhaler (n=108) or a disabled device (n=108).

The device recorded the date, time and number of actuations used and had multiple ringtone reminders that rang twice daily, stopping once the correct dosage was taken or after 15 minutes.

Patients were followed for 2, 4 and 6 months after receiving the electronic devices.

The mean change in asthma morbidity score from baseline to 6 months was greater in the group with the enabled devices than among controls (2 points vs. 1.2 points; P=.008).

The group with the enabled device also had a lower proportion of parent-reported asthma exacerbations than the control group; 6% of the intervention group reported at least one exacerbation in the first 2 months compared with 24% of the control group.

Despite these data, the researchers said that additional research should be conducted.

“A study with a longer research period is needed to investigate the effects of reminder frequency and variability on long-term adherence,” the researchers wrote.

Disclosure: The study was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand and Cure Kids. See the study for a full list of relevant financial disclosures.