Clinical effectiveness of the Respimat reg; inhaler device in managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: evidence when compared with other handheld inhaler devices

Felix SF Ram1, Celso R Carvallho2, John White31School of Health and Social Services, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand; 2Department of Physical Therapy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil; 3York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, York Hospital, York, UKObjectives: Medication for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be delivered by a number of different inhaler devices. This study was undertaken to determine the clinical effectiveness of the Respimat® handheld inhaler device compared with other handheld inhaler devices for the delivery of medication in stable COPD.Methodology: A systematic review of high-quality randomized controlled clinical trials comparing Respimat with other inhaler devices using the same medication was performed. Studies were searched for in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials as well as other relevant electronic databases. Manufacturers of inhaled COPD medication were also contacted for potential trials.Results: Seven studies of high methodological quality with 3813 participants were included in the review. Three trials used Handihaler® as the comparator inhaler, three used a chlorofluorocarbon metered-dose inhaler (CFC-MDI), and one trial used a hydroflouroalkane (HFA)-MDI. When Respimat was compared with Handihaler, the following reported outcomes were not significantly different: trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (weighted mean difference [WMD] 0.01 L; P = 0.14), trough forced vital capacity (FVC) (WMD 0.001 L: P = 0.88), peak FEV1 (WMD 0.01 L: P = 0.08), peak FVC (WMD 0.01 L: P = 0.55), morning peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) (WMD 5.06 L/min: P = 0.08), and evening PEFR (WMD 4.39 L/min: P = 0.15). Furthermore, there were no differences when Respimat was compared with Handihaler for risk of exacerbations (relative risk [RR] 0.94: P = 0.81), dry mouth (RR 1.57: P = 0.34), or nasopharyngitis (RR 1.42: P = 0.22). For Respimat compared with CFC-MDI, the only outcome for which data were available for meta-analysis was exacerbations, which were not significantly different (RR 1.20: P = 0.12). In addition, five trials with 2136 patients showed that there was no difference in risk of exacerbations or nasopharyngitis when Respimat was compared with all other handheld inhaler devices (RR 1.18: P = 0.13 and RR 1.33: P = 0.19, respectively). None of the clinical outcome measures reported was significantly different when the same, higher, or lower