Volume 1, Number 4, September 2007

Getting it Right: Asthma Devices in Children
Peggy Sherwood

Asthma medications should routinely be delivered by a pressurised metered dose inhaler (pMDI) and spacer system, with a facemask where necessary, in children under five, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).1 For older children, aged 5-15 years, NICE has advised that a child’s therapeutic needs, the ability to develop and maintain an effective technique, the suitability of a device for the child’s and carer’s lifestyles (ie portability and convenience) and the likelihood of good compliance are the factors that should govern the choice of device.2 Only once these factors have been taken into account, should choice be made on the basis of cost minimisation.

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