ReviewEuropean journal of clinical pharmacology2025
Hair analysis for monitoring adherence to inhaled respiratory medications: possibilities and limitations.
Review in European journal of clinical pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Stability of formoterol concentration in scalp hair of patients using maintenance formoterol therapy for asthma or COPD (INCTFISH).Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeNon-adherence to inhaled medication poses a significant clinical and economic burden on patients with respiratory diseases. This narrative review provides an overview of key aspects of hair analysis, in general and specific for inhaled medications, and explores the potential of hair analysis as a novel tool to monitor adherence to inhaled medications.
methodsPubMed searches were conducted to explore four aspects: (1) mechanisms of (inhaled) drug's systemic absorption and deposition in hair; (2) quantification of drugs in hair; (3) factors impacting (inhaled) drug hair concentrations; and (4) clinical studies assessing inhaled medication adherence through hair analysis.
resultsSystemic absorption, deposition, quantification, and interpretation of drug concentrations in hair are complex phenomena and are influenced by various factors. Analysing drug concentrations in hair segments provides insights into adherence variability over up to 3 months. While studies suggest effective incorporation of several inhaled drugs into hair, inter-individual variability is influenced by external (e.g. UV-exposure), drug- (e.g. lipophilicity) and patient-specific (e.g. hair colour) factors, not just by adherence. The impact of these confounding factors on absolute hair concentrations is still unclear. Intra-individual variability unrelated to adherence appears, however, minimal.
conclusionAlthough hair analysis shows promise as a novel objective bioanalytical method for assessing long-term inhaled medication adherence, until further analytical refinement, clinical validation and a clearer understanding of confounding factors, it should not be relied upon as the sole measure of adherence.
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Registered trials
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