QVAR (beclomethasone dipropionate HFA) Inhalation Aerosol

Talking With Your Patients
About QVAR®

The Importance of Daily Asthma Control Medication

It is important for patients to use QVAR® as prescribed. The recommended dosage is twice daily (BID). To help you make sure your patients are using the QVAR® inhaler properly, we’ve developed a downloadable patient instruction sheet that you can provide to your patients.

Patients may be more likely to take QVAR® as prescribed if they understand the inflammatory process associated with asthma and the way QVAR® helps control this inflammation.

Some of the basic points your patients should understand include the following:

  • Asthma affects the airways, the tubes that carry air into the lungs.1
  • People with asthma have airways that are inflamed (or irritated).1
  • When the airways are inflamed, they become narrower and are more sensitive to asthma triggers like smoke, pollen, or exercise.1
  • Even when people with asthma don't have symptoms, their airways may still be inflamed.1
  • Long-term control medicines like QVAR® treat inflammation.
  • By reducing the inflammation in your airways you can reduce the chance of having an asthma attack.1
Inflamed vs. Non-inflamed Airways

Patients may ask about how QVAR® works and how the action of QVAR® is different from other ICSs. It may help to explain that the particles in QVAR® are smaller than some other ICSs.*

  • Treating inflammation in the lungs is similar to treating inflammation from a rash on your skin. The medicine has to reach the inflamed areas in order to help.
  • Because QVAR® particles are small, they can reach the small airways deep in your lungs.2-4
QVAR® small particle size
QVAR® lung deposition vs. competition
Lung deposition - comparison with Advair® CFC

Maintaining QVAR® Adherence

As with other long-term control medications, QVAR® must be taken daily in order to achieve and maintain control of persistent asthma. Here are some tips you can offer your patients to help them stay on track:

  • Remembering to use the QVAR® inhaler is easier if you pair it with another part of your daily routine, like brushing teeth or putting in and taking out contact lenses.
  • Keep your QVAR® inhaler in plain sight and in a spot that you see every day, such as your bathroom counter (rather than inside a medicine cabinet).
  • If you use an electronic calendar, set up daily alerts to remind you to take your asthma medication.

QVAR® (beclomethasone dipropionate HFA) Inhalation Aerosol is indicated in the maintenance treatment of asthma as prophylactic therapy in patients 5 years of age or older. QVAR® is also indicated for asthma patients who require systemic corticosteroid administration, where adding QVAR® may reduce or eliminate the need for systemic corticosteroids.

Important Safety Information

  • QVAR® is not a bronchodilator and is not indicated for relief of acute bronchospasm
  • Common side effects associated with the use of QVAR® and placebo in clinical trials include, but are not limited to, headache (12% and 9%, respectively) and pharyngitis (8% and 4%, respectively)
CAUTION: Adrenal insufficiency may occur when transferring patients from systemic steroids (see WARNINGS, Prescribing Information).
  • A reduction in growth velocity in growing children and teenagers may occur as a result of inadequate control of chronic diseases such as asthma or from use of corticosteroids for treatment

* The relationship of better lung deposition and particle size to clinical efficacy is unknown.

The brands listed are the registered trademarks of their respective owners.

References

  1. NHLBI Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/asthgdln.htm. Accessed April 20, 2010.
  2. Martin RJ. Therapeutic significance of distal airway inflammation in asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunology. 2002; 109(2):S447-S460.
  3. Leach CL. Effect of formulation parameters on hydrofluoroalkane-beclomethasone dipropionate drug deposition in humans. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1999;104:S250-S252.
  4. Leach C, Colice GL, Luskin A. Particle size of inhaled corticosteroids: does it matter? J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009;124:S88-S93.
  5. Mauad T, Silva LFF, Santos MA, et al. Abnormal alveolar attachments with decreased elastic fiber content in distal lung in fatal asthma. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004;170(8):857-862.
  6. Cripps A, Riebe M, Schulze M, Woodhouse R. Pharmaceutical transition to non-CFC pressurized metered dose inhalers. Respir Med. 2000;94(suppl B):S3-S9.
  7. Data on file. Teva Respiratory, LLC; 2009.
  8. Data on file. Teva Respiratory, LLC; 2010.
  9. Rohatagi S, Derendorf H, Zech K, Nave R, Banerji D. PK/PD of inhaled corticosteroids: the risk/benefit of inhaled ciclesonide [abstract]. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2003;111(suppl 2): S218.
  10. Warren S, Taylor T, Smith J, Buck H, Parry-Billings M. Gamma scintigraphic evaluation of a novel budesonide dry powder inhaler using a validated radiolabeling technique. J Aerosol Med.2002;15(1):15-25.
  11. Leach CL, Davidson PJ, Hasselquist BE, Boudreau RJ. Lung deposition of hydrofluoroalkane-134a beclomethasone is greater than that of chlorofluorocarbon fluticasone and chlorofluorocarbon beclomethasone: a cross-over study in healthy volunteers. Chest. 2002;122:510-516.
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