Which patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease benefit from the addition of an inhaled corticosteroid to their bronchodilator? A cluster analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To identify subsets of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who are more protected from exacerbations with the use of an inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2 agonist (ICS/LABA) combination, compared with the use of LABA monotherapy.

Design

Post hoc cluster analysis of patients from two randomised clinical trials of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (SFC) and salmeterol (SAL) that had primary endpoints of moderate/severe exacerbation rates.

Setting

Centres in North America.

Participants

1543 COPD patients were studied.

Interventions

SFC 50/250 µg or SAL 50 µg, twice daily.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The analysis identified clusters of COPD patients more responsive to SFC versus SAL with respect to the annual

SUBMITTER: Disantostefano RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3641457 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature