Pilot Study to Investigate the Benefits of the InnoSpire Go Mesh Nebulizer Compared to Jet Nebulizers in the Treatment of Stable COPD

Background: Nebulizers are widely used for the delivery of aerosols to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer has been designed to improve upon the ease of use and convenience of existing nebulizers for the treatment of COPD. Methods: This was a pilot, single-center, randomized, open-label crossover study conducted over 2 months to investigate the use of the InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer compared to the patient's own compressor driven jet nebulizer in ambulatory patients with stable COPD. Patient preference was assessed at the end of the study; quality of life, symptom scores, treatment time, and satisfaction were assessed at multiple points during the study. Results: Data for 17 patients were eligible for analysis, patients had a mean age of 64.6 years, and 64.7% were graded 3 on the modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale. All patients preferred the InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer over their own compressor driven jet nebulizer (p < 0.001). Nebulization of study drugs using the InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer was associated with statistically significant increases in health-related quality of life over baseline (Dyspnea p = 0.003, Emotion p = 0.043, Mastery p = 0.011). A mixed model analysis of Borg dyspnea scores before and after exercise showed significantly (p = 0.043) lower scores for the InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer compared with the compressor driven nebulizers. Patient satisfaction was statistically significantly higher for each of 10 questions covering ease of use, confidence, burden of use, satisfaction, and how well the device fit into their lifestyle. Treatment time was significantly shorter with the InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Patients preferred and were more satisfied with the InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer. Nebulization of study drugs using the InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer resulted in improved quality of life compared with baseline, and treatments were delivered in a shorter period than the compressor driven jet nebulizers. Clinical Trial Registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03933462.