Effectiveness of a Pharmacist-driven Intervention in the Knowledge Improvement Regarding Inhaler Use by COPD Outpatients of a Respiratory Disease Specialized Hospital in Nepal

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease characterized by chronic obstruction of airflow which is not completely reversible. Inhalational route is the most common route intended for drug administration in the treatment of COPD-like conditions. However, incorrect inhalation technique leads to poor treatment outcomes. Notably, pharmacists have a pivotal role in providing appropriate information and training regarding medication, inhalation techniques, potential benefits, and side effects associated with inhaled medications. Therefore, an interventional study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a pharmacist’s intervention in the knowledge improvement regarding inhaler technique in COPD patients. Methods: Study site was Medicine OPD of GP Koirala National Centre for Respiratory Disease, Dulegaunda, Tanahun, Nepal from December 2021 to February 2022 among 95 patients. Intervention technique used in the study was counseling provided by a pharmacist and the distribution of leaflets containing information for patients regarding inhaler use. After one month, the patients were followed-up and improvement in inhaler use techniques were determined. A comparison of the pre-and post-intervention data was performed to determine the effectiveness of pharmacist’s intervention on reducing inhaler-associated errors using suitable tests (p