AB036. Real-life experience of COPD patients on ease and accuracy of inhaler use: the REAL survey

BackgroundMany patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) achieve incomplete benefit from their treatment, due to reasons including inadequate device training or incorrect inhaler technique. Dosing frequency has also been shown to impact COPD treatment compliance with inhaler overuse and underuse being the most common form of noncompliance. Between 28–68% of patients do not use their inhalers correctly, and 39–67% of health care professionals (HCPs) do not effectively train patients to correctly use their inhalers. This makes patients prone to committing inhaler use errors and may negatively impact treatment compliance. We conducted a computer-assisted telephonic survey in patients with COPD to evaluate patient-reported insights on real life aspects of inhaler use, training and check for correct use by HCP, device attributes and patient-reported compliance of inhaler or medication use.