Proper Inhaler Technique in Hospice Patients
Posted by Dr. Julia Harder
In this month’s issue of our newsletter, The Clinician, we shared with you an article entitled “The Medication Management of COPD in Hospice Patients”, which reviewed the treatment of end-stage COPD and discussed rational and effective ways to combine inhaled medications. In the article we emphasized the importance of proper inhaler technique in delivering safe and effective medication doses. When patients don’t use their inhalers properly, they don’t benefit from them as much as they should, and may be more susceptible to certain side effects (such as thrush, which can occur when inhaled corticosteroids deposit in the mouth instead of in the lungs).
As hospice care providers, we should know exactly how inhalers should be used so that we are able to assess and educate our patients in proper inhaler technique. This can be quite challenging when each inhaler has its own specific instructions. So, as promised in the newsletter article, what we are providing here are inhaler-specific usage instructions. These can be downloaded and printed for nurses, patients, caregivers, or anyone who would like instructions on proper inhaler technique. Simply click on the name of the inhaler to download the usage instructions.
This list includes all brand-name metered dose inhalers (MDIs) and dry powder inhalers (DPIs). It does not include nebulized medications, since all nebulized medications are used in essentially the same way, and instructions will depend more upon the type of nebulizer than on the medication being used.
If you would like a copy of “The Medication Management of COPD in Hospice Patients”, please contact us!
Advair Diskus
Advair HFA
Alvesco
Arcapta Neohaler
Asmanex Twisthaler
Atrovent HFA
Combivent
Dulera
Flovent Diskus
Flovent HFA
Foradil Aerolizer
Maxair Autohaler
ProAir HFA
Proventil HFA
Pulmicort Flexhaler
Qvar
Serevent Diskus
Symbicort
Ventolin HFA
Xopenex HFA
Spiriva