Should You Use A Spacer With Symbicort
Your Question. If you read the package insert for Symbicort, it says not to use with a spacer. What should we make of this? It seems to me that common sense would point to using a spacer with it, considering it is an inhaler. What do you think? My Answer. That is a very good question. There are actually two ways of looking at this. One, that Symbicort is still a relatively new product, and it has yet to have been studied with a spacer. For this reason, their lawyers may require them to make this note on the package insert. Two, the dose of medicine is adjusted based on estimated distribution to the airways. It is well known that only 9% of medicine inhaled by metered dose inhalers makes it to the lower airways where it is needed. To compensate for this low distribution percentage, the dose of Symbicort was adjusted to obtain maximal results. Wanting to limit side effects, the makers of Symbicort (AstraZeneca) and their lawyers decided to put the disclaimer on the packag...