Q&A: Electronic inhaler system helps patients improve asthma control
Patients who used the Reliever Digihaler System had greater odds for better asthma control compared with patients who used standard inhalers, according to a study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
They also used short-acting beta agonists (SABA) less frequently and had more SABA-free days, the researchers found, as the system recorded and reported data on their inhaler usage and inhalation quality.
Healio spoke with Flavia Cecilia Lega Hoyte, MD, allergist and immunologist at National Jewish Health, to find out more about the study of the system.
Healio: What prompted this study?
Hoyte: In asthma control and treatment management, SABA reliever use is an important indicator. The ProAir Digihaler (Teva Pharmaceuticals) is an integrated inhaler that records objective, accurate information about SABA use. The CONNECT1 study is the first clinical study to evaluate the impact on asthma control of the ProAir Digihaler System, comprising the ProAir Digihaler, patient-facing app and provider-facing dashboard. The Digihaler system makes information on SABA use accessible to both patients and providers to help inform personalized, proper treatment decisions.
Healio: Were there any particularly surprising or significant findings?
Hoyte: Results from the study showed adults and children aged 13 years and older with uncontrolled asthma using the ProAir Digihaler and its integrated system had an 85.3% probability of higher odds of improving their asthma control after 3 months compared with those using standard-of-care (SoC) albuterol inhalers.
The study also found that patients who used the ProAir Digihaler had reductions in weekly average daily SABA inhalations and an increase in weekly number of SABA-free days.
Additionally, more physician-reported interactions with patients about inhaler use and inhaler technique were observed in the Digihaler group vs. the SoC group, prompted by the objective data provided by the Digihaler system. These discussions included conversations triggered specifically by seeing poor inhaler technique in the Digihaler data.
We were pleased to see improvement in asthma control was achieved merely by improving access to objective information about SABA use. The medication itself was very similar between groups.
Healio: What kind of training did health care providers receive before using the system?
Hoyte: Health care providers and pharmacists were trained in using the Digihaler system through Teva field representatives as well as resources on digihalerhcp.com.
Healio: How can doctors use these findings to improve their own care?
Hoyte: The CONNECT1 study shows that “smart” digital health products such as the ProAir Digihaler system that provide sensor-connected, fully integrated digital technology and objective data on inhaler use can elicit more informed discussions between physicians and patients. This can ultimately help physicians understand and address true causes of poor disease control, thereby improving treatment decisions and leading to improvements in asthma control.
Healio: What is the next step in this research?
Hoyte: Further study results will be presented at ACAAI Annual Scientific Meeting 2022, including analysis of other clinical questions answered through the CONNECT1 study.