Suitability of the main device types, categorised according to the patient's abilities (adapted from [36] with permission from the publisher)
| Good coordination of actuation with inspiration | Poor coordination of actuation with inspiration | ||
| Inspiratory flow >30 L·min−1 | Inspiratory flow <30 L·min−1 | Inspiratory flow >30 L·min−1 | Inspiratory flow <30 L·min−1 |
| pMDI | pMDI | pMDI with spacer | pMDI with spacer |
| Breath-actuated pMDI | Nebuliser (e.g. patient with severe obstruction) | Breath-actuated pMDI | Nebuliser (e.g. small children) |
| DPI | SMI | DPI | SMI |
| Nebuliser (e.g. average patient) | Nebuliser (e.g. elderly patients, children) | ||
| SMI | SMI | ||
pMDI: pressurised metered-dose inhaler; DPI: dry powder inhaler; SMI: soft mist inhaler.