EXPLORE!

Benefits of early long-acting bronchodilators in COPD

  1884 Views

Dr Surya Kant, Professor and Head, Dept. of Respiratory Medicine, KGMU, UP, Lucknow. National Vice Chairman IMA-AMS    22 September 2022

Starting long-acting bronchodilators within 30 days after diagnosis of COPD decreases the risk of moderate to severe exacerbations in patients with COPD, according to a study from Japan published in the journal Respiratory Research.1

 

In this study, researchers retrospectively examined 2982 COPD patients, aged 40 years and older, utilizing data from the Real World Data database, from January 2005 through to December 2018. The day when the patient, whether as outpatient or inpatient, was given a confirmed diagnosis of COPD was taken as Day 0. None of the study participants had asthma at study entry. All the participants were divided into two groups: the “prompt therapy” group (n = 1466) and “delayed therapy” group (n = 1516) based on the timing of initiation of inhaled long-acting bronchodilator therapy within the first 30 days of diagnosis.

 

Patients in whom treatment with inhaled long-acting bronchodilator was started within the first 30 days of their diagnosis had lower annual exacerbation rates compared to the delayed therapy group with rate ratio of 0.74. These patients also took longer to experience the first exacerbation with a hazard ratio of 0.78. When these subgroups of patients with chronic bronchitis or emphysema.

 

This study has for the first time demonstrated the favorable outcomes with long-acting bronchodilators when given in a timely manner, regardless of the COPD phenotype. Hence, clinicians should consider starting long-acting bronchodilators promptly in their patients with COPD right after their diagnosis to reduce the risk of exacerbations later on.

 

Reference

 

  1. Yamada H, et al. Effect of timing of bronchodilator therapy initiation on exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective cohort study. Respir Res. 2022 Sep 19;23(1):255. doi: 10.1186/s12931-022-02184-6.

To comment on this article,
create a free account.

Sign Up to instantly get access to 10000+ Articles & 1000+ Cases

Already registered?

Login Now

Most Popular Articles

News and Updates

eMediNexus provides latest updates on medical news, medical case studies from India. In-depth medical case studies and research designed for doctors and healthcare professionals.