Exacerbation of asthma due to inadvertent use of a dummy inhaler

Asthma is a common airways disease. Fortunately most patients respond well to inhaled therapy. Regular use of a combination inhaler delivering corticosteroid and a long-acting beta-2 agonist, is the mainstay of treatment and allows asthmatics to live a relatively normal life. However, management of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Syed Mohammad Tariq
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-01-01
Series:Respiratory Medicine Case Reports
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213007118301187
Description
Summary:Asthma is a common airways disease. Fortunately most patients respond well to inhaled therapy. Regular use of a combination inhaler delivering corticosteroid and a long-acting beta-2 agonist, is the mainstay of treatment and allows asthmatics to live a relatively normal life. However, management of asthma depends not only on the choice of drug/inhaler but also on patient compliance and optimal inhaler technique. This report describes a patient who continued to deteriorate despite adhering to prescribed treatment and demonstrating a good inhaler technique. Unfortunately the combination inhaler she was taking inadvertently was a designated placebo device for a branded product. This error was identified and corrected only after she was admitted with an asthma attack. Keywords: Asthma, Beta-2 agonist, Corticosteroid, Dummy inhaler, Exacerbation
ISSN:2213-0071