"Correct use of inhaled corticosteroids in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease": a consensus document

Clinical Concepts for Triple Therapy Use in Patients with COPD: A Delphi Consensus

Purpose

Role of triple therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management is supported by growing evidence, but consensus is lacking on various aspects. We conducted a Delphi survey in respiratory experts on the effects of triple therapy on exacerbation reduction, early optimization, pneumonia risk, and mortality benefits in COPD management.

Methods

The study comprised 2-round online surveys and a participant meeting with 21 respiratory experts from 10 countries. The 31-statement questionnaire was prepared using Decipher software after literature review. Responses were recorded using Likert scale ranging from 1 (disagreement) to 9 (agreement) with a consensus threshold of 75%.

Results

All experts participated in both surveys and 14/21 attended participant meeting. Consensus was reached on 13/31 questions in first survey and 4/14 in second survey on: mortality benefits of triple therapy; comparable pneumonia risk between single inhaler triple therapy (SITT) and multiple inhaler triple therapy (81%); preference of SITT for patients with high eosinophil count (95%); exacerbation risk reduction and healthcare cost benefits with early initiation of SITT post exacerbation-related hospitalization (<30 days) (86%). No consensus was reached on first line SITT use after first exacerbation resulting in COPD diagnosis (62%).

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that there is consensus among experts regarding many of the key concepts about appropriate clinical use and benefits of triple therapy in COPD. More evidence is required for evaluating the benefits of early optimisation of triple therapy.

Clinical and Economic Consequences of Inhaled Corticosteroid Doses and Particle Size in Triple Inhalation Therapy for COPD: Real-Life Study

Objective

To determine the clinical and economic consequences of inhaled corticosteroid doses and particle size in patients on triple-inhalation therapy for COPD.

Methods

Patients aged ≥40 years who initiated treatment with multi-inhaler triple-inhaled therapy between 1 January 2015 and 31 March were included and followed for 1 year. Patients were grouped according to inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose (low/medium/high) and particle size device (extrafine/non-extrafine particles). Outcome variables were moderate and severe exacerbations, pneumonia and healthcare resource use (HCRU) costs. A multivariate analysis was performed for model correction (p<0.05).

Results

A total of 2185 patients (mean age 72.3 years, 82.9% male) were analysed. Of these, 849 (38.9%) patients received low-dose ICS, 612 medium-dose ICS (28.0%) and 724 (33.1%) high-dose ICS. Exacerbations occurred more frequently with increasing IC dose (low: 26.4%, medium: 28.7% and high: 30.4%; p=0.047), as did the proportion of pneumonia (3.4%, 4.2% and 6.9%, respectively (p=0.041)). The annual mean cost/unit was € 2383 for low dose, € 2401 for medium dose and € 2625 for high dose (p=0.024). Four hundred and sixty-two (31.6%) patients used an extrafine particle device and 999 (68.4%) a non-extrafine particle device: the proportion of exacerbations was 24.0% vs 30.4% (p=0.012), and the annual mean cost/unit was € 2090 vs € 2513, respectively (p<0.001). The number of exacerbations was directly correlated with FEV₁ (β= −0.157), age (β=0.071), Charlson index (β=0.050) and device type (extrafine: β=0.049) (p<0.02).

Conclusion

In patients with COPD receiving multi-inhaler triple therapy, higher ICS doses were not associated with a further reduction in exacerbations, whereas we found an increased risk of pneumonia. The use of inhaler devices delivering extrafine ICS particle was associated with a lower rate of exacerbations, resulting in lower overall HCRU costs.

A Framework For Step Down Or Therapeutic Re-Organization For Withdrawal Of Inhaled Corticosteroids In Selected Patients With COPD: A Proposal For COPD Management

While chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality, pharmacological therapy has a definite benefit on symptoms as well as the frequency and severity of exacerbations, and general health. The most recent Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines recommend triple therapy (long-acting beta2 agonists [LABA] + long-acting muscarinic antagonists [LAMA] + inhaled corticosteroids [ICS]) only for patients with exacerbations, elevated eosinophils, and without control using a LABA/LAMA or ICS/LABA combination. Long-term monotherapy with ICS is not currently recommended, but may be considered in association with LABAs in patients with a history of exacerbations and elevated eosinophils in spite of appropriate treatment with long-acting bronchodilators. However, long-term use of ICS in combination therapy has been associated with adverse effects, even if widely used in routine management for decades. The available evidence suggests that ICS can be rationally discontinued in patients with stable disease and is not likely to have unfavorable effects on lung function, overall health, or be associated with a greater risk of exacerbations. Indeed, it is widely accepted that ICS therapy should be limited to a small proportion of patients after careful assessment of the individual risk-benefit profile. Unfortunately, however, there are no international recommendations that provide specific guidance or a protocol for withdrawal of ICS. Herein, the available evidence on the use of ICS is reviewed and an easy to use tool is proposed that can provide clinicians with a simple management scheme to guide the most appropriate therapy for management of COPD and use of ICS. In management of COPD, a highly personalized approach is advocated so that the most appropriate therapy for each individual patient can be selected.

Considerations for the Correct Diagnosis of COPD and Its Management With Bronchodilators

COPD is often misdiagnosed and inappropriately treated in many patients. COPD is a distinct disease from adult-onset asthma; however, some patients with COPD may present with several forms of airway disease described as asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). Bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) both have a place in standard maintenance treatment of COPD and asthma; however, recommendations for use differ widely. In patients with COPD, long-acting bronchodilators are effective initial monotherapy treatment, whereas ICS monotherapy is recommended as initial treatment in patients with asthma. Clinicians need to be confident in their diagnosis to ensure that correct treatment is given because misguided treatment decisions can result in significantly increased safety risks for patients. This review highlights the differences in diagnosis and treatment between COPD, asthma, and ACO and discusses the data supporting guideline recommendations for use of bronchodilators in COPD treatment in contrast to asthma or ACO.

A proposal for the withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids in the clinical practice of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

According to the current clinical practice guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the addition of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) to long-acting β2 agonist therapy is recommended in patients with moderate-to-severe disease and an increased risk of exacerbations. However, ICS are largely overprescribed in clinical practice, and most patients are unlikely to benefit from long-term ICS therapy.Evidence from recent randomized-controlled trials supports the hypothesis that ICS can be safely and effectively discontinued in patients with stable COPD and in whom ICS therapy may not be indicated, without detrimental effects on lung function, health status, or risk of exacerbations. This article summarizes the evidence supporting the discontinuation of ICS therapy, and proposes an algorithm for the implementation of ICS withdrawal in patients with COPD in clinical practice.Given the increased risk of potentially serious adverse effects and complications with ICS therapy (including pneumonia), the use of ICS should be limited to the minority of patients in whom the treatment effects outweigh the risks.

Optimizing bronchodilation in the prevention of COPD exacerbations

The natural disease course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often punctuated by exacerbations: acute events of symptom worsening associated with significant morbidity and healthcare resource utilization; reduced quality of life; and increased risk of hospitalization and death. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) recommend that patients at risk of exacerbations (GOLD Groups C and D) receive a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) or a long-acting β2-agonist (LABA)/LAMA combination, respectively, as preferred initial treatments. The latter recommendation is based on recent trial evidence demonstrating the superior efficacy of a fixed-dose LABA/LAMA over an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/LABA in exacerbation prevention. ICS in combination with a LABA is also indicated for prevention of exacerbations, but the use of ICS is associated with an increased risk of adverse events such as pneumonia, and offers limited benefits beyond those provided by LABA or LAMA monotherapy. In this review, we examine evidence from a number of pivotal studies of LABAs and LAMAs, administered as monotherapy or as part of dual or triple combination therapy, with a specific focus on their effect on exacerbations. We also discuss a new proposed treatment paradigm for the management of COPD that takes into account this recent evidence and adopts a more cautious approach to the use of ICS. In alignment with GOLD 2017, we suggest that ICS should be reserved for patients with concomitant asthma or in whom exacerbations persist despite treatment with LABA/LAMA.

Spanish Guidelines for Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (GesEPOC) 2017. Pharmacological Treatment of Stable Phase

The clinical presentation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) varies widely, so treatment must be tailored according to the level of risk and phenotype. In 2012, the Spanish COPD Guidelines (GesEPOC) first established pharmacological treatment regimens based on clinical phenotypes. These regimens were subsequently adopted by other national guidelines, and since then, have been backed up by new evidence. In this 2017 update, the original severity classification has been replaced by a much simpler risk classification (low or high risk), on the basis of lung function, dyspnea grade, and history of exacerbations, while determination of clinical phenotype is recommended only in high-risk patients. The same clinical phenotypes have been maintained: non-exacerbator, asthma-COPD overlap (ACO), exacerbator with emphysema, and exacerbator with bronchitis. Pharmacological treatment of COPD is based on bronchodilators, the only treatment recommended in low-risk patients. High-risk patients will receive different drugs in addition to bronchodilators, depending on their clinical phenotype. GesEPOC reflects a more individualized approach to COPD treatment, according to patient clinical characteristics and level of risk or complexity.

Identification of a nanobody specific to human pulmonary surfactant protein A

Nanobody (Nb) is a promising vector for targeted drug delivery. This study aims to identify an Nb that can specifically target the lung by binding human pulmonary surfactant protein A (SP-A). Human lung frozen tissue sections were used for 3 rounds of biospanning of our previously constructed Nb library for rat SP-A to establish a sub-library of Nb, which specifically bound human lung tissues. Phage-ELISA was performed to screen the sub-library to identify Nb4, which specifically bound human SP-A. The binding affinity Kd of Nb4 to recombinant human SP-A was 7.48 × 10⁻⁷ M. Nb4 (19 kDa) was stable at 30 °C–37 °C and pH 7.0–7.6 and specifically bound the SP-A in human lung tissue homogenates, human lung A549 cells, and human lung tissues, whereas didn’t react with human liver L-02 cells, kidney 293T cells, and human tissues from organs other than the lung. Nb4 accumulated in the lung of nude mice 5 minutes after a tail vein injection of Nb4 and was excreted 3 hours. Short-term exposure (one month) to Nb4 didn’t cause apparent liver and kidney toxicity in rats, whereas 3-month exposure resulted in mild liver and kidney injuries. Nb4 may be a promising vector to specifically deliver drugs to the lung.

[Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in real life. LEONPOC study]

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate different characteristics of COPD patients according to phenotypes and GOLD guidelines.according to GesEPOC phenotypes and GOLD 2011 ABCD guidelines and pharmacological treatment agreement.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

LOCATION

COPD patients aged 40-85 from León were randomly selected from Primary Care database, MEDORA.

PARTICIPANTS

5222 eligible COPD patients were collected from MEDORA database. We calculated a sample size of 734 patients and finally studied 577 of them.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS

Patientś clinical, functional and health related quality of life information were collected. Spirometry and postbroncodilator test were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 577 patients were included in this study. 28.7% of them did not have a spirometry recorded in their files. 123 patients had a normal or non-obstructive spirometry pattern, so they were excluded from a COPD diagnostic. With regard to treatments, there was an overprescribing of inhaled steroids in patients from GOLD A and B groups, and also in patients with the called exacerbator phenotype (GesEPOC).

CONCLUSION

Although there have been several published guidelines, management of COPD patients in real life should be improved.

Determinants for changing the treatment of COPD: a regression analysis from a clinical audit

Introduction

This study is an analysis of a pilot COPD clinical audit that evaluated adherence to guidelines for patients with COPD in a stable disease phase during a routine visit in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics in order to identify the variables associated with the decision to step-up or step-down pharmacological treatment.

Methods

This study was a pilot clinical audit performed at hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with over eight million inhabitants), in which 20% of centers in the area (catchment population 3,143,086 inhabitants) were invited to participate. Treatment changes were evaluated in terms of the number of prescribed medications and were classified as step-up, step-down, or no change. Three backward stepwise binominal multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate variables associated with stepping up, stepping down, and inhaled corticosteroids discontinuation.

Results

The present analysis evaluated 565 clinical records (91%) of the complete audit. Of those records, 366 (64.8%) cases saw no change in pharmacological treatment, while 99 patients (17.5%) had an increase in the number of drugs, 55 (9.7%) had a decrease in the number of drugs, and 45 (8.0%) noted a change to other medication for a similar therapeutic scheme. Exacerbations were the main factor in stepping up treatment, as were the symptoms themselves. In contrast, rather than symptoms, doctors used forced expiratory volume in 1 second and previous treatment with long-term antibiotics or inhaled corticosteroids as the key determinants to stepping down treatment.

Conclusion

The majority of doctors did not change the prescription. When changes were made, a number of related factors were noted. Future trials must evaluate whether these therapeutic changes impact clinically relevant outcomes at follow-up.

Inhaled corticosteroids and the increased risk of pneumonia: what's new? A 2015 updated review

There is a considerable amount of evidence that supports the possibility of an increased risk of pneumonia associated with prolonged use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, as yet, no statistically significant increase in pneumonia-related 30-day mortality in patients on ICS has been demonstrated. The lack of objective pneumonia definitions and radiological confirmations have been a major source of bias, because of the similarities in clinical presentation between pneumonia and acute exacerbations of COPD. One of the newer fluticasone furoate studies overcomes these limitations and also provides an assessment of a range of doses, suggesting that the therapeutic window is quite narrow and that conventional dosing has probably been too high, although the absolute risk may be different compared to other drugs. Newer studies were not able to rule out budesonide as responsible for pneumonia, as previous evidence suggested, and there is still need for evidence from head-to-head comparisons in order to better assess possible intra-class differences. Although the exact mechanisms by which ICS increase the risk of pneumonia are not fully understood, the immunosuppressive effects of ICS on the respiratory epithelium and the disruption of the lung microbiome are most likely to be implicated. Given that COPD represents such a complex and heterogeneous disease, attempts are being made to identify clinical phenotypes with clear therapeutic implications, in order to optimize the pharmacological treatment of COPD and avoid the indiscriminate use of ICS. If deemed necessary, gradual withdrawal of ICS appears to be well tolerated. Vaccination against pneumococcus and influenza should be emphasized in patients with COPD receiving ICS. Physicians should keep in mind that signs and symptoms of pneumonia in COPD patients may be initially indistinguishable from those of an exacerbation, and that patients with COPD appear to be at increased risk of developing pneumonia as a complication of ICS therapy.

Guideline Adherence in Outpatient Clinics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Results from a Clinical Audit

OBJECTIVES

Previous clinical audits of COPD have provided relevant information about medical intervention in exacerbation admissions. The present study aims to evaluate adherence to current guidelines in COPD through a clinical audit.

METHODS

This is a pilot clinical audit performed in hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with more than 8 million inhabitants), including 9 centers (20% of the public centers in the area) between 2013 and 2014. Cases with an established diagnosis of COPD based on risk factors, clinical symptoms, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 0.70 were deemed eligible. The performance of the outpatient clinics was benchmarked against three guidance documents available at the time of the audit. The appropriateness of the performance was categorized as excellent (>80%), good (60-80%), adequate (40-59%), inadequate (20-39%), and highly inadequate (<20%).

RESULTS

During the audit, 621 clinical records were audited. Adherence to the different guidelines presented a considerable variability among the different participating hospitals, with an excellent or good adherence for symptom recording, MRC or CAT use, smoking status evaluation, spirometry, or bronchodilation therapy. The most outstanding areas for improvement were the use of the BODE index, the monitoring of treatments, the determination of alpha1-antitrypsin, the performance of exercise testing, and vaccination recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study reflects the situation of clinical care for COPD patients in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics. Adherence to clinical guidelines shows considerable variability in outpatient clinics managing COPD patients, and some aspects of the clinical care can clearly be improved.

Treatment of patients with COPD and recurrent exacerbations: the role of infection and inflammation

Exacerbations of COPD represent an important medical and health care problem. Certain susceptible patients suffer recurrent exacerbations and as a consequence have a poorer prognosis. The effects of bronchial infection, either acute or chronic, and of the inflammation characteristic of the disease itself raise the question of the possible role of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents in modulating the course of the disease. However, clinical guidelines base their recommendations on clinical trials that usually exclude more severe patients and patients with more comorbidities, and thus often fail to reflect the reality of clinicians attending more severe patients. In order to discuss aspects of clinical practice of relevance to pulmonologists in the treatment and prevention of recurrent exacerbations in patients with severe COPD, a panel discussion was organized involving expert pulmonologists who devote most of their professional activity to day hospital care. This article summarizes the scientific evidence currently available and the debate generated in relation to the following aspects: bacterial and viral infections, chronic bronchial infection and its treatment with cyclic oral or inhaled antibiotics, inflammatory mechanisms and their treatment, and the role of computerized tomography as a diagnostic tool in patients with severe COPD and frequent exacerbations.

Treatment patterns in COPD patients newly diagnosed in primary care. A population-based study

INTRODUCTION

Treatment for COPD is tailored based on clinical characteristics and severity. However, prescription patterns in COPD patients newly diagnosed in primary care may differ from guideline recommendations.

METHOD

We performed an epidemiological study with data obtained from the Information System for the Development in Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP), a population database that contains information of 5.8 million inhabitants (80% of the population of Catalonia). Patients newly diagnosed with COPD from 2007 to 2012 were identified and information about the initial treatment patterns was collected. The initial treatment was also described by phenotype and severity.

RESULTS

During the study period 41,492 patients were newly diagnosed with COPD. Patients were classified as non exacerbators (28,552 patients, 69%), asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS) (2152 patients, 5.2%) and frequent exacerbators (10,888 patients, 27.6%). Among the patients in whom FEV1 was available, 13.9% were GOLD stage 1, 55.2% stage 2, 26% stage 3 and 4.8% stage 4. Globally, the most frequently prescribed treatment patterns were short-acting bronchodilators (SABD) in monotherapy (17.7%), long-acting β-2 agonists (LABA) + inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) (17.3%) and triple therapy (12.2%). The frequency of patients treated with a SABD increased from 15.9% to 19.5% during the study period, while the number of untreated patients decreased from 24.4% to 15.1%. Up to 45.2% of patients were initially treated with ICS, which were frequently prescribed in the ACOS (69.2%) and in the exacerbator phenotype patients (52.4%) while ICS use has decreased from 43.8% in 2007 to 35.8% in 2012 in non exacerbator patients. Up to 13.6% and 14.8% of GOLD 4 patients received no treatment or only SABD after diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Initial treatment patterns in newly diagnosed COPD patients often do no comply with guidelines. The use of ICS is excessive but has decreased mainly in non exacerbator patients. Many COPD patients still remain untreated after diagnosis, although this has decreased. Some GOLD 4 patients are still receiving SABD or no treatment at all after diagnosis.

Applying the wisdom of stepping down inhaled corticosteroids in patients with COPD: a proposed algorithm for clinical practice

Current guidelines for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) recommend limiting the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) to patients with more severe disease and/or increased exacerbation risk. However, there are discrepancies between guidelines and real-life practice, as ICS are being overprescribed. In light of the increasing concerns about the clinical benefit and long-term risks associated with ICS use, therapy needs to be carefully weighed on a case-by-case basis, including in patients already on ICS. Several studies sought out to determine the effects of withdrawing ICS in patients with COPD. Early studies have deterred clinicians from reducing ICS in patients with COPD as they reported that an abrupt withdrawal of ICS precipitates exacerbations, and results in a deterioration in lung function and symptoms. However, these studies were fraught with numerous methodological limitations. Recently, two randomized controlled trials and a real-life prospective study revealed that ICS can be safely withdrawn in certain patients. Of these, the WISDOM (Withdrawal of Inhaled Steroids During Optimized Bronchodilator Management) trial was the largest and first to examine stepwise withdrawal of ICS in patients with COPD receiving maintenance therapy of long-acting bronchodilators (ie, tiotropium and salmeterol). Even with therapy being in line with the current guidelines, the findings of the WISDOM trial indicate that not all patients benefit from including ICS in their treatment regimen. Indeed, only certain COPD phenotypes seem to benefit from ICS therapy, and validated markers that predict ICS response are urgently warranted in clinical practice. Furthermore, we are now better equipped with a larger armamentarium of novel and more effective long-acting β2-agonist/long-acting muscarinic antagonist combinations that can be considered by clinicians to optimize bronchodilation and allow for safer ICS withdrawal. In addition to providing a review of the aforementioned, this perspective article proposes an algorithm for the stepwise withdrawal of ICS in real-life clinical practice.