Approach to asthma inhaler compliance using breath measurement of tetrafluoroethane
View Patent ↗The invention relates to measuring the effectiveness and an compliance of inhaler medication, such as for asthma treatment. In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of determining the effectiveness of an inhaler medication, comprising taking a measurement of HFA-134(a) from an exhaled breath of an individual after the individual has inhaled a medication, and determining an effective administration of the medication based on the presence of a high level of HFA-134(a).
1. A method of determining the effectiveness of an inhaler medication, comprising:
taking a measurement of HFA-134(a) from an exhaled breath of an individual after the individual has inhaled a medication;
determining an effective administration of the medication based on the presence of a high level of HFA-134(a).
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the individual is being treated for asthma.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the medication is a corticosteroid.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the medication is a short acting bronchodilator.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the medication is Flovent HFA or Proventil HFA.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the medication is a β2 agonist.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement of HFA-134(a) is taken within 24 hours of inhaling the medication.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement of HFA-134(a) is taken between 5 and 12 hours of inhaling the medication.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement of HFA-134(a) is taken between 24 and 48 hours of inhaling the medication.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high level of HFA-134(a) is at or above 300×10 6 pptv HFA-134(a) levels.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high level of HFA-134(a) is an at least 10 6 order of magnitude increase relative to normal levels.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high level of HFA-134(a) is an at least 10 3 order of magnitude increase relative to ambient levels of HFA-134(a).
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high level of HFA-134(a) is an at least 10 2 order of magnitude increase relative to ambient levels of HFA-134(a).
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high level of HFA-134(a) is between 3 to 300 ppmv from measurements taken immediately after inhaling the medication.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high level of HFA-134(a) is about 260 pptv or more in exhaled breath.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the measurement of HFA-134(a) in exhaled breath is taken within 48 hours of inhaling the medication.
17. A device, comprising:
an analytic system that can take a measurement of HFA-134(a) from an exhaled breath of an individual after the individual has inhaled a medication,
take a measurement and quantify a corresponding ambient level of HFA-134(a), and
determine whether there has been an effective administration of the medication based on the presence of a high level of HFA-134(a) relative to the corresponding ambient level of HFA-134(a).
18. The device of claim 17 , wherein the HFA-134(a) levels are measured and quantified using a mass spectrometer detector (MSD).
19. The device of claim 17 , further comprising gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
20. A method to determine compliance and treatment efficacy with inhalers, comprising examining hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) in the exhaled human breath as a biomarker of asthma inhaler compliance.
21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising two components: 1) analytical technique to measure breath HFA in a range of parts-per-million to parts-per-trillion (pptv) using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry and 2) multi-compartmental analysis of HFA biotransport in the human airway following inhaled doses of ICS to estimate HFA elimination pharmacokinetic parameters such as rate constants.