Nasal Spray Use Technique Among Patients Attending the Out-Patient Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Gandaki Province, Nepal

BACKGROUND: Nasal sprays are used to deliver the medications locally to the nasal cavity. The majority of patients have been observed to perform nasal spray use techniques inadequately. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the intervention on nasal spray use technique. METHODS: This was a prospective pre- and post-interventional study to evaluate the nasal spray use technique among the subjects with the help of nasal spray checklist. A standardized WHO nasal spray checklist was used on the study conducted in Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal from July to October 2019. Subjects were asked to demonstrate the technique and a scoring system was applied before and after the intervention by the researcher. The total score of the intervention technique ranges from 0 to 11. After evaluation of the technique at the first visit, subjects were provided with an informative leaflet having all the steps to be followed to use the spray and the technique was re-evaluated after 10 days. RESULTS: A total of 81 subjects (51.9% male and 48.1% female) participated in the study. The average duration of nasal drug use was 15 days. The overall mean±SD score was 4.31±1.625 before intervention and 9.84±1.699 after intervention. After the intervention, the percentage of subjects using the nasal spray correctly increased by 50.27%. Wilcoxon signedrank test showed intervention on nasal spray use technique was effective (p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: The nasal spray use technique was poor among the subjects before the intervention. The intervention was substantially effective in improving the technique to use the nasal spray. Regular assessment and reinforcement of correct technique by health professionals will improve the proper use technique of nasal spray, hence increasing the effectiveness of the therapy.