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Table 6 Costs of poor inhalation technique for patients using BF Turbuhaler® and FS Accuhaler®

From: The economic burden of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the impact of poor inhalation technique with commonly prescribed dry powder inhalers in three European countries

Unscheduled healthcare events

Spain

Sweden

UK

Frequency (n; thousands)

Cost (€; millions)

Frequency (n; thousands)

Cost (€; millions)

Frequency (n; thousands)

Cost (€; millions)

Hospitalisations

Total

92.7

373.9

106.5

130.7

33.9

73.3

 Not due to poor inhalation technique

78.4

316.2

89.0

109.2

28.6

61.8

 Due to poor inhalation techniquea

14.3

57.7

17.6

21.5

5.3

11.5

 Contribution of poor inhalation techniqueb(%)

15.4

16.5

15.6

ED visits

Total

101.0

18.4

115.1

20.4

33.7

6.1

 Not due to poor inhalation technique

81.4

14.8

91.3

16.2

27.1

4.9

 Due to poor inhalation techniquea

19.6

3.6

23.8

4.2

6.6

1.2

 Contribution of poor inhalation techniqueb(%)

19.4

20.7

19.7

Antimicrobial courses

Total

313.8

1.5

524.1

0.6

699.3

14.3

 Not due to poor inhalation technique

262.7

1.3

433.2

0.5

584.0

12.0

 Due to poor inhalation techniquea

51.0

0.2

90.9

0.1

115.3

2.4

 Contribution of poor inhalation techniqueb(%)

16.3

17.3

16.5

OCS courses

Total

239.5

4.1

363.7

0.9

207.7

11.5

 Not due to poor inhalation technique

198.0

3.4

296.4

0.7

171.2

9.5

 Due to poor inhalation techniquea

41.5

0.7

67.2

0.2

36.5

2.0

 Contribution of poor inhalation techniqueb(%)

17.3

18.5

17.6

Productive days lost

Total

9,714.9

602.7

5,736.2

1,178.8

14,712.0

2,489.6

 Not due to poor inhalation technique

8,215.5

509.7

4,790.8

984.5

12,409.8

2,100.0

 Due to poor inhalation techniquea

1,499.4

93.0

945.4

194.3

2,302.2

389.6

 Contribution of poor inhalation techniqueb(%)

15.4

16.5

15.6

Overall cost burden

Total

10,461.9

1,000.6

6,845.6

1,331.4

15,686.6

2,594.8

 Not due to poor inhalation technique

8,836.0

845.4

5,700.7

1,111.1

13,220.7

2,188.2

 Due to poor inhalation techniquea

1,625.8

155.2

1,144.9

220.3

2,465.9

406.7

  1. aThe number of unscheduled healthcare events associated with poor inhalation technique is based on the increased risk of each event as reported by Melani and colleagues [19], taking account of the proportion of patients experiencing an event who have: i) good inhalation technique; ii) poor inhalation technique, but the reason for the event is not due to poor inhalation technique; iii) poor inhalation technique, and the poor inhalation technique is the cause of the event. The cost of poor inhalation technique was calculated by multiplying the number of events occurring per patient due to poor inhalation technique by the weighted cost of the event.bTotal number of unscheduled healthcare events and costs. Values are subject to rounding
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BMC Health Services Research

ISSN: 1472-6963

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