Elderly people are unlikely to benefit from zanamivir treatment because of the delivery system

In November 2000 the National Institute for Clinical Excellence reversed its advice and recommended zanamivir for elderly people with influenza. The mode of delivery is a dry powder inhaler (Diskhaler), but elderly people often find inhalers difficult to use. Diggory et al (p 577) compared elderly patients' inhaler technique with two types of inhaler (Diskhaler and Turbohaler). Patients using the Turbohaler fared significantly better47% achieved perfect scores compared with 13% using the Diskhaler. The Diskhaler proved especially difficult to load, so zanamivir treatment for elderly people is unlikely to be effective.

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Relevant Article

Comparison of elderly people's technique in using two dry powder inhalers to deliver zanamivir: randomised controlled trial

Paul Diggory, Christophe Fernandez, Amanda Humphrey, Valerie Jones, and Maeve Murphy
BMJ 2001 322: 577. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]