Rn. Dalby et al., EVALUATION OF AEROSOL DRUG OUTPUT FROM THE OPTICHAMBER(TM) AND AEROCHAMBER(R) SPACERS IN A MODEL SYSTEM, The Journal of asthma, 35(2), 1998, pp. 173-177
Metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) are an effective means of generating drug
-containing aerosols targeted for delivery to intrapulmonary airways.
Many problems associated with incorrect patient use of MDIs are mitiga
ted by adding a valved spacer device to the inhaler mouthpiece. This i
n vitro study compared the efficiency of drug output through a new spa
cer device, OptiChamber(TM) (HealthScan Products Inc., Cedar Grove, NJ
), to that of a device commercially available since the 1980s, AeroCha
mber(R) (Monaghan Medical, Plattsburgh, NY). Testing utilized MDI form
ulations of albuterol, beclomethasone dipropionate, and cromolyn sodiu
m. OptiChamber equaled or, in the majority of cases, exceeded AeroCham
ber in output of the three drugs at two simulated inspiratory flow rat
es. Drug output from OptiChamber was found to be less sensitive to cha
nges in flow rate than that from AeroChamber. OptiChamber also showed
less decrease in drug output than AeroChamber when time delays were in
troduced between MDI actuation and the start of a simulated inhalation
. Mass median aerodynamic diameters of drugs exiting the two spacers w
ere generally similar to those of drugs exiting the MDI alone. However
, spacers were shown to nearly eliminate the output of large-size drug
particles (>5.8 mu m), which can result in oropharyngeal drug deposit
ion. Emitted fine-particle drug (<5.8 mu m) doses from OptiChamber wer
e greater than those from AeroChamber with or without a delay between
canister actuation and the start of a simulated inhalation. The result
s suggest that OptiChamber may provide more efficacious aerosol drug d
elivery than AeroChamber under both ideal and suboptimal conditions.