BackgroundNon-adherence to treatment is associated with poor asthma control, increased exacerbations, decline in lung function, and decreased quality of life. M-health applications have become increasingly in the last years, but little research regarding the efficiency of the instructional videos for correct inhaler use exist. The aim of this study is to assess and improve the inhalator technique and to establish which types of errors were made more often with the help of a mobile health application.Materials and methodsSeventy-five patients with partially controlled or uncontrolled asthma, using any of turbuhaler, diskus, pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI) or soft mist inhaler (SMI), were included in the study. When they first entered the study, the patient’s inhaler technique was assessed by a trained medical professional and the technique errors were categorized in handling, respectively inhalation errors. After the first evaluation, the patients downloaded an application on their Smartphone and were encouraged to use the application as much as needed to remind them the correct inhalation technique. The patients were re-called every three months for evaluation, treatment, and assessment of inhalation technique.ResultsWe analyzed both handling and inhalation errors for each of the four considered inhalers. We observed a significantly reduced number of inhalation technique errors after using the mobile phone application. Turbuhaler median errors were 6.00, and after six months we did not observe errors. Diskus median error was 6.00, and after six months we observed a maximum of one error. pMDI median errors were 7.00, and after six months we observed just one error. Similarly, SMI median error was 7.00, and after six months we observed just one error.ConclusionAlthough technique inhalation errors are very common among asthma patients, video instructions provided through specific mobile phone applications could improve the inhaler technique in order to achieve a better control of the disease.

Background Many studies assessed the effect of mobile phone applications on self-management outcomes in patients with asthma, but all of them presented variable results. In this paper. we examined the effect of a mobile phone application on self-management and disease control in Romanian population. Methods This study included 93 patients diagnosed with asthma that were recalled every three months for a year for assessment and treatment. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group included patients that received treatment, and the second group received treatment and also used the smartphone application. Number of exacerbations and asthma control test (ACT) were recorded. Results The ACT score was significantly higher for asthma patients using also the mobile application than for the patients using the treatment alone, for all the evaluation moments (Mann-Whitney U test, p <  0.001). Also, we found significant differences between the ACT score with-in each group, observing a significant improvement of the score between evaluations and baseline (related-samples Friedman’s test with Bonferroni correction, p <  0.001). When considering the exacerbations rate, significantly less patients using the application presented exacerbations, 10.30% vs. 46.30% (Pearson Chi-square test, X2 (1) = 13.707, p <  0.001). Conclusion Our study indicates that smartphone applications are an effective way to improve asthma control and self-management when used continually in our population. We found significant positive effects in disease control and exacerbation frequency.

Background Many studies assessed the effect of mobile phone applications on self-management outcomes in patients with asthma but all of them presented different results. In this paper we examined the effect of a mobile phone application on self-management and disease control in Romanian population.Material and methods This study included 93 patients diagnosed with asthma that were recalled every three months for a year for assessment and treatment. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group included patients that received treatment and the second group received treatment and also used the smartphone application. Number of exacerbations and asthma control test (ACT) were recorded.Results ACT score was significantly higher for patients using also the mobile application than for the patients using the treatment alone, Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.001. When considering the exacerbations rate, the patients not using the application presented an insignificant lower number of exacerbations than the group using the application, 40.74% vs. 58.97%, respectively, chi-square test, X 2 (1) = 3.105, p = 0.081. The number of exacerbations without hospitalization was significantly higher in case of the first group, when comparing to the second group, 46.3% vs 10.26%, X 2 (1) = 13.71, p < 0.001.Conclusion Our study indicates that smartphone applications are an effective way to improve asthma control and self-management when used continually in our population. We found significant positive effects in disease control and exacerbation frequency.