GENebu Project: home nebulizer use and maintenance in Italy

Due to the lack of information on this topic, the Educational Group of the Italian Association of Hospital Pneumologists performed an open, multicentr e, observational survey to evaluate home nebulizer practices in Italy. From May-December 1999, all patients attending one of the 27 participating chest clinics throughout Italy and who were or had been using a home nebuli zer in the previous 6 months were consecutively enrolled. All patients comp leted a self-administered questionnaire on their current practices of home nebulization. Of the 1,721 questionnaires delivered, 1,257 were returned with an overall response rate of 73%. Most patients (82.8%) reported using their nebulizer for bronchopulmonary symptoms and the remaining patients only used theirs f or upper respiratory tract diseases. Subjects using their nebulizer for low er respiratory symptoms were older (p <0.001), predominantly female (p <0.0 01) and used their nebulizer more frequently (p <0.001). Forty per cent of patients > 60 yrs old used their nebulizer regularly, at least once a day. More than 60% of respondents never received any information from healthcare workers on the correct usage of their nebulizer, and > 75% received no inf ormation on nebulizer hygiene and care. Patients who received information o n the use and maintenance of their nebulizer from caregivers more commonly attended to these practices (p <0.01). The present survey suggests that home nebulizer use and maintenance in Ital y are heterogeneous, and there is the need to implement better nebulizer pr actice.