Abstract

MENDOZA I, Laura et al. A plastic bag is useful as spacer device for pressurized aerosol delivery. Rev. chil. enferm. respir. [online]. 2005, vol.21, n.1, pp.33-38. ISSN 0717-7348.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-73482005000100005.

It has been demostrated that the effect of inhaled medications is enhanced by spacer devices, but their sizes make them unpractical to carry around and they have additional cost. In order to test if a homemade cheap spacer is as effective as the commercial spacers, we tested a small plastic bag with a cardboard mouth piece. We recluted 17 patients over 16 years of age with an obstructive ventilatory limitation in spirometry with a significative response with 200 µg of albuterol. We randomized patients into two groups: one received the bronchodilator through a commercial spacer and the other through the homemade device. We observed that with the latter we obtained similar or better FEV₁ and FVC increases. We conclude that the use of this cheap device can be used in patients with advantage over commercial ones

Keywords : Plastic bag system; spacer devices; inhaled bronchodilators; obstructive ventilatory limitations.

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