To evaluate the characteristics of users of inhalers and the frequency of inhaler use among adolescents and adults with self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema. Methods: A population-based study conducted in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, involving 3,670 subjects ≥ 10 years of age, evaluated with a questionnaire. Results: Approximately 10% of the sample reported at least one of the respiratory diseases studied. Among those individuals, 59% reported respiratory symptoms in the last year, and, of those, only half reported using inhalers. The use of inhalers differed significantly by socioeconomic status (39% and 61% for the lowest and the highest, respectively, p = 0.01). The frequency of inhaler use did not differ by gender or age. Among the individuals reporting emphysema and inhaler use, the use of the bronchodilator-corticosteroid combination was more common than was that of a bronchodilator alone. Only among the individuals reporting physician-diagnosed asthma and current symptoms was the proportion of inhaler users higher than 50%. Conclusions: In our sample, inhalers were underutilized, and the type of medication used by the individuals who reported emphysema does not seem to be in accordance with the consensus recommendations.

Keywords: Metered dose inhalers; Asthma; Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Bronchitis; Emphysema; Dry powder inhalers.

Objective: To identify incorrect inhaler techniques employed by patients with respiratory diseases in southern Brazil and to profile the individuals who make such errors. Methods: This was a population-based, cross-sectional study involving subjects ≥ 10 years of age using metered dose inhalers (MDIs) or dry powder inhalers (DPIs) in 1,722 households in the city of Pelotas, Brazil. Results: We included 110 subjects, who collectively used 94 MDIs and 49 DPIs. The most common errors in the use of MDIs and DPIs were not exhaling prior to inhalation (66% and 47%, respectively), not performing a breath-hold after inhalation (29% and 25%), and not shaking the MDI prior to use (21%). Individuals ≥ 60 years of age more often made such errors. Among the demonstrations of the use of MDIs and DPIs, at least one error was made in 72% and 51%, respectively. Overall, there were errors made in all steps in 11% of the demonstrations, whereas there were no errors made in 13%.Among the individuals who made at least one error, the proportion of those with a low level of education was significantly greater than was that of those with a higher level of education, for MDIs (85% vs. 60%; p = 0.018) and for DPIs (81% vs. 35%; p = 0.010).Conclusions: In this sample, the most common errors in the use of inhalers were not exhaling prior to inhalation, not performing a breath-hold after inhalation, and not shaking the MDI prior to use. Special attention should be given to education regarding inhaler techniques for patients of lower socioeconomic status and with less formal education, as well as for those of advanced age, because those populations are at a greater risk of committing errors in their use of inhalers.

Keywords: Asthma; Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Dry powder inhalers; Metered dose inhalers.