Inhaler Switching Approaches in Asthma and COPD: What Factors to Consider?

In 2019, the NHS became the first healthcare system to commit to reaching net zero carbon emissions.¹ Whilst the commitment to become net zero is extremely positive, achieving sustainable healthcare without compromising patient care requires careful thought and consideration. One of the key strategies to help achieve a “net zero NHS” has been to reduce the use of pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) and replacing these with lower carbon footprint inhalers such as dry powder inhalers (DPIs), wherever appropriate.

Currently, different approaches are being used to switch patients from pMDIs to DPIs, which can have varying consequences on patient care. In this on-demand webinar Prof Omar Usmani provides a critical review of the different approaches to inhaler device switching and its potential consequences on patient care.

References
1. NHS Long Term Plan. Available at https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/nhs-long-term-plan-version-1.2.pdf

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• Professor Omar Usmani

  Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Consultant Physician & Clinical Director

  Read biography
  Professor Omar Usmani

  Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Consultant Physician & Clinical Director National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Imperial College London & Royal Brompton Hospital (RBH) and St Mary's Hospital London

  Role and Location 

  Professor Omar Usmani MB BS, PhD, FHEA, FRCP, FERS, is Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Imperial College London & Consultant Physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital (RBH) and St Mary’s Hospital London. He is Clinical Director of ICRRU (Imperial College Respiratory Research Unit).

  Education 

  Professor Usmani qualified in Medicine at King’s College London and has dual Specialist Certification in Respiratory and General Internal Medicine. He underwent his Speciality Training at the London Teaching Hospitals of St Thomas’, Guy’s and King’s College. During his clinical training he undertook a PhD at Imperial College London. He received the 2005 NHLI Best Thesis Prize NHLI PhD Prize for the Best Thesis submitted and an Alavi-Mandell Award from the American Society of Nuclear Medicine.

  Research Interests

  His research interests are Inhaled Drug Delivery, Small Airways Physiology, Lung Imaging, Respiratory Pharmacology and Tele-monitoring / E-health. He has pioneered novel and sophisticated techniques of assessing inhaled drug delivery, detecting dysfunction of small airways physiology, and characterising airflow heterogeneity using pulmonary imaging, in order to understand structure-functiontreatment relationships within the lungs. His research expertise has led to invitations to deliver keynote lectures at prestigious international scientific meetings. He has written state of the art reviews in his field and has presented his views as a leading expert about the future of inhalation medicine on ERS Vision.

  Memberships

  Prof Usmani is the Head of ERS Assembly 5 – Airway Diseases since 2020 and former Secretary of Assembly 5 – Airway Diseases 2017-2020; Chair of the UK Inhaler Group (UKIG) since 2017; Vice-Chair of Drug Delivery to the Lungs (DDL) since 2010; European Liaison Officer of the International Society of Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM); former Board Member 2013-2017 (maximum two terms) of this International academic organisation dedicated to inhaled drug delivery to the lungs; Board Member of the Aerosol Drug Management Improvement Team (ADMIT) since 2014 – an expert group of European pulmonologists involved in inhalation medicine; Associate Editor to the journals Respiration, since 2009 and, to Pulmonary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, since 2016 and, to Breathe, since 2017; Editorial Board member of Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, since 2017 and Journal of the COPD Foundation, since its inception in 2014; Steering Committee Member of the Small Airways Working Group of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) between 2012 – 2015; an International organization of Allergology and Clinical Immunology societies from around the world; In 2016, appointed to lead and chair of the second updated version of the International ERS/ISAM Taskforce Consensus Statement on “What the pulmonary physician should know about inhaled therapy”; Chair of the Guidelines Working Party, which developed the Inhaler Choice Guideline for UK healthcare professionals in 2017, which was updated in 2020; In 2019, awarded Fellow of the European Respiratory Society (FERS). In 2020, he was voted by the ERS Assembly 5 members as Head of Assembly 5 (Airway Diseases – Asthma, COPD, Chronic Cough); In 2021, he was elected as President-elect of the International Society of Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM).