Switching from chlorofluorocarbon-beclomethasone dipropionate to a hydrofluoroalkane-134a beclomethasone dipropionate metered-dose inhaler: Study of patient preferences

Abstract

Objective The aims of this study were to assess the acceptability of a new hydrofluoroalkane-134a (HFA) beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) metered-dose inhaler (MDI) and the ease with which patients switched from a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) BDP MDI to the new MDI. Background BDP has been reformulated in a new CFC-free MDI that uses HFA as the propellant. Methods A total of 385 adult patients with asthma who already used inhaled corticosteroids completed a questionnaire about the MDI they had used before entering the study. They also assessed a CFC-BDP MDI during a 2-week run-in period. After the run-in period, 267 patients were assigned randomly to 1 month of treatment with the HFA-BDP MDI. Results At the end of the 1-month treatment period, patients assessed the HFA-BDP MDI and indicated their preference for the CFC or HFA MDI. Patients reported no major differences between the 2 MDIs in terms of adapter size and style or mouthpiece size and shape. Overall, 235 of the 267 participants (88%) found the HFA-BDP MDI to be an acceptable replacement for the CFC-BDP MDI, whereas 150 patients (56%) reported that the HFA-BDP MDI had advantages over the CFC-BDP MDI. These advantages included the lower number of puffs per day, the lack of CFCs, and the better or more comfortable mouthpiece. Most patients (256 [96%]of 267) found it easy to switch from the CFC-BDP to the HFA-BDP MDI. In all, 160 (60%) of the 267 patients indicated that they preferred the HFA-BDP MDI to the CFC-BDP MDI. Conclusions Results of this study confirm that the HFA-BDP MDI is an acceptable replacement for the CFC-BDP MDI and that most patients find the switch from a CFC-BDP MDI to the HFA-BDP MDI to be easy.