Metered dose inhalers (MOls) are widely used in clinical practice for administering pharmaceuticals targeted to the lung. It is well known that the inhalation technique used with MOls can substantially influence the clinical response to inhaled medications. Todetermine the acceptability of MOl maneuvers, we studied 59 subjects (26 females and 33 males; age, 20 to 81 yr; mean age, 38 yr) to determine whether the MOl technique used by these individuals complied with published recommendations for acceptable inhalation technique. Measurements were made with an MOl adapter that contained an unobtrusive, lightweight, miniature sensing system. Inspiratory flow at the moment of MOl actuation (Va), the volume (integrated from airflow) at actuation as a fraction of total inspiratory volume 0/aM), breath-holding time (tBH), and inspiratory volume as a fraction of FVC 0/I/FVC) were determined from 59 uncoached inhalations. We defined an acceptable maneuver, based on published data, by four components: (1) inspiratory flow at actuation (Va) between 25 and 90 Umin; (2) actuation during early inspiration (0 < VaM~0.20); (3) adequate breathholding time (tBH >4 s), and (4) a deep inhalation (VIIFVC >0.50). For all subjects, only 25% of inhalation maneuvers met all four criteria for acceptability. We found that a significantly higher proportion of male than female subjects performed an acceptable MOl maneuver (43% versus 4%, p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in technique between younger and older subjects or between patients with a diagnosis of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPO). We conclude that most patients use their MOls incorrectly; females of all ages are much more likely to have improper MOl technique than are males. Goodman DE, Israel E, Rosenberg M, Johnston R, Weiss ST, Drazen JM. The influence of age, diagnosis, and gender on proper use of metered-dose inhalers. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1994;150:1256-61.