Benefits and Risks of Inhaled Corticosteroid Treatment in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Classified by Blood Eosinophil Counts

Advances in inhaled corticosteroids for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: what is their value today?

INTRODUCTION

As of today, there is still a need to determine which COPD patients may benefit from ICS therapy, whether ICSs are useful in COPD patients without chronic bronchitis, and whether long-acting bronchodilators can reduce the risk of exacerbations in frequent exacerbators even if ICSs are not used, and whether combination therapy including ICSs is helpful in infrequent exacerbators to optimise the use of ICSs in COPD. Nevertheless, in recent years, a fair amount of evidence has been produced that, at least in part, can help define the role of ICSs in COPD better.

AREAS COVERED

Herein, the authors provide an overview of current use of ICS in COPD and discuss their value to the current treatment armamentarium. The article includes discussion of which patients will benefit best from the use of ICSs, their potential uses and adverse effects.

EXPERT OPINION

There is growing agreement on why, in whom, and when ICS therapy can be used in COPD, although the consensus is still lacking because of the heterogeneity of COPD. The use of blood eosinophil counts (BECs) is only helpful in T2 inflammation, while there is a lack of biomarkers indicating the presence of T1 and T17 immunity, which is poorly responsive to ICS. Identifying ICS-sensitive endotypes using specific biomarkers that have yet to be identified and validated is likely to demonstrate that ICSs can influence the natural course of COPD in at least a subset of patients.