Characterization of circadian COPD symptoms by phenotype: Methodology of the STORICO observational study

The Prescribing Practice for COPD: Relationship to Circadian Rhythm, Disease Severity, and Clinical Phenotype in the STORICO Observational Study

INTRODUCTION

While selected clinical and laboratory findings are taken into account to find the best therapeutic strategies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it is unknown whether the circadian rhythm of respiratory symptoms, a distinctive feature of COPD, affects the prescription pattern of pharmacological therapy. The main aim of this study was to verify whether the circadian rhythm of symptoms correlates with bronchodilating therapy prescribed to COPD patients as per clinical practice. A secondary objective was to assess the relationship between Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage and circadian rhythm of symptoms and health status.

METHODS

Five hundred sixty-six COPD patients were enrolled in the Italian multicenter STORICO study. Patients underwent a multidimensional assessment, and correlates of prescribed therapy were assessed through a multivariate multilevel model.

RESULTS

As expected, patients in GOLD D stage were more likely to receive triple inhaled therapy than GOLD A-C patients, but the circadian rhythm of symptoms, assessed by the nighttime, morning, and daytime symptoms of the COPD questionnaire, was unrelated to the prescription pattern. The multivariate model showed that emphysematous (EM) patients had a 50% increased risk compared with patients affected by chronic bronchitis (CB) of being prescribed long-acting β2-agonists (LABA)/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) fixed-dose combination (FDC) instead of triple therapy [relative risk (RR) _{EM versus CB} 1.50, 95% CI 1.11, 2.03]. Symptoms, mainly in the early morning and daytime, were highly prevalent, even in GOLD B stage (76%).

CONCLUSION

Even if we cannot infer about causality of the symptoms-therapy relationship, based on the structured recording of circadian symptoms clearly shows that symptoms are poorly controlled as the circadian rhythm of symptoms does not correlate with the prescription pattern, and many patients are symptomatic both at daytime and by nighttime. Thus, therapy should be better tailored to the individual needs, with special attention to control nocturnal symptoms.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT03105999.

Clinical Evolution and Quality of Life in Clinically Based COPD Chronic Bronchitic and Emphysematous Phenotypes: Results from the 1-Year Follow-Up of the STORICO Italian Observational Study

Introduction

Understanding clinical evolution of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is crucial for improving disease management.

Materials and Methods

STORICO (NCT03105999), an Italian, multicenter, non-interventional, observational study conducted in 40 pulmonology centers, aimed to describe the 1-year clinical evolution and health status of clinicallbased phenotypes. Baseline and follow-up data of COPD subjects with a chronic bronchitis (CB) or emphysema (EM) phenotype were collected. The frequency of COPD symptoms during the 24 hours (gathered via the night-time, morning and day-time symptoms of COPD questionnaire) and the anxiety and depression levels (via the HADS Scale) were recorded at each visit.

Results

A total of 261 CB and 159 EM patients were analyzed. CB patients with ≥1 night-time symptom seemed to be more frequent (51.7%, 41.8% and 41.4% at baseline, 6-month and 12-month follow-up, respectively) than EM (37.7%, 32.1% and 30.2% at study visits) even if no statistical differences were observed at time points between phenotypes (chi-square test p-values presence/absence of night-time symptoms in CB vs EM at study visits >0.0007). In the first 6 months, the frequency of patients with ≥1 night-time symptom decreased of 9.9% in CB and of 5.6% in EM. A clinically relevant decline of DLCO % predicted over 1 year in EM was observed, the mean (SD) being 61.5 (20.8) % at baseline and 59.1 (17.4) % at 12-month follow-up. EM had higher levels of anxiety and depression than CB (median (25th-75th percentile) HADS total score in CB: 7.0 (4.0–13.0) and 7.0 (3.0–12.0), in EM: 9.0 (3.0–14.0) and 9.5 (3.0–14.0) both at baseline and at 6-month follow-up, respectively), considering 1.17 as minimally clinical important difference (MCID) for the total score.

Conclusion

EM patients, evaluated in a real-world setting, seem to suffer from a worse clinical condition and health status compared to CB patients, appearing to have “more treatable” traits.

One-Year Evolution of Symptoms and Health Status of the COPD Multi-Dimensional Phenotypes: Results from the Follow-Up of the STORICO Observational Study

Aim

Describing the 1-year evolution of symptoms and health status in COPD patients enrolled in the STORICO study (observational study on characterization of 24-h symptoms in patients with COPD) classified in multidimensional phenotypes (m-phenotypes).

Methods

In our previous study, we performed an exploratory factor analysis to identify clinical and pathophysiological variables having the greatest classificatory properties, followed by a cluster analysis to group patients into m-phenotypes (mild COPD (MC), mild emphysematous (ME), severe bronchitic (SB), severe emphysematous (SE), and severe mixed COPD (SMC)). COPD symptoms were recorded at baseline, 6-, and 12-month follow-up and their evolution was described as frequency of patients with always present, always absent, arising’, ‘no more present symptoms. QoL and quality of sleep were evaluated using the SGRQ and CASIS questionnaires, respectively.

Results

We analyzed 379 subjects (144 MC, 71 ME, 96 SB, 14 SE, 54 SMC). M-phenotypes were stable over time in terms of presence of symptoms and health status with selected differences in evolution of symptoms in mild vs severe m-phenotypes. Indeed, 28.1% SB, 50.0% SE and 24.1% SMC vs 0.7% MC and 5.6% ME with night-time symptoms at baseline had no more symptoms at 6-month (p-value night-time symptom evolution MC vs SB, SE, SMC and ME vs SB, SE, SMC <0.0001). All m-phenotypes improved in quality of sleep, more markedly the severe than the mild ones (p-values CASIS score change between baseline and 6- or 12-month in MC, ME vs SB, SE, SMC <0.0001). QoL did not change during observation, irrespectively of m-phenotype.

Conclusion

Over 1 year, severe m-phenotypes showed an improvement in night-time symptoms and quality of sleep, but not QoL. Being stable over time, m-phenotypes seem worthy of testing for classificatory and prognostic purposes.

Day and Night Control of COPD and Role of Pharmacotherapy: A Review

The topic of 24-hour management of COPD is related to day-to-night symptoms management, specific follow-up and patients’ adherence to therapy. COPD symptoms strongly vary during day and night, being worse in the night and early morning. This variability is not always adequately considered in the trials. Night-time symptoms are predictive of higher mortality and more frequent exacerbations; therefore, they should be a target of therapy. During night-time, in COPD patients the supine position is responsible for a different thoracic physiology; moreover, during some sleep phases the vagal stimulation determines increased bronchial secretions, increased blood flow in the bronchial circulation (enhancing inflammation) and increased airway resistance (broncho-motor tone). Moreover, in COPD patients the circadian rhythm may be impaired. The role of pharmacotherapy in this regard is still poorly investigated. Symptoms can be grossly differentiated according to the different phenotypes of the disease: wheezing recalls asthma, while dyspnea is strongly related to emphysema (dynamic hyperinflation) or obstructive bronchiolitis (secretions). Those symptoms may be different targets of therapy. In this regard, GOLD recommendations for the first time introduced the concept of phenotype distinction suggesting the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) particularly when an asthmatic pattern or eosiophilic inflammations are present, and hypothesized different approaches to target symptoms (ie, dyspnea) or exacerbations. Pharmacotherapy should be evaluated and possibly directed on the basis of circadian variations, for instance, supporting the use of twice-daily rapid-action bronchodilators and evening dose of ICS. Recommendations on day and night symptoms monitoring strategies and choice of the specific drug according to patient’s profile are still not systematically investigated or established. This review is the summary of an advisory board on the topic “24-hour control of COPD and role of pharmacotherapy”, held by five pulmonologists, experts in respiratory pathophysiology, pharmacology and sleep medicine.

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Daytime symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review

There is no single source of compiled data on symptoms experienced by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) when awake and active throughout the day. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the prevalence, variability, and burden (i.e., bothersomeness and/or intensity), and the impact of daytime COPD symptoms on other outcomes. The review also evaluated the impact of interventions and the measures/tools used to assess daytime COPD symptoms in patients. A systematic literature search was conducted using the primary search terms "COPD", "symptoms", and "daytime" in EMBASE®, MEDLINE®, MEDLINE® In-Process, and CENTRAL in 2016, followed by an additional search in 2018 to capture any new literature that was published since the last search. Fifty-six articles were included in the review. The accumulated evidence indicated that the symptomatic burden of COPD appears greatest in the morning, particularly upon waking, and that these morning symptoms have a substantial impact on patients' ability to function normally through the day; they also worsen quality of life. A wide variety of tools were used to evaluate symptoms across the studies. The literature also confirmed the importance of pharmacotherapy in the management of daytime COPD symptoms, and in helping normalize daily functioning. More research is needed to better understand how COPD symptoms impact daily functioning and to evaluate COPD symptoms at well-defined periods throughout the day, using validated and uniform measures/tools. This will help clinicians to better define patients' needs and take appropriate action.

A circadian clock is essential for homeostasis of group 3 innate lymphoid cells in the gut

Group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) critically orchestrate host-microbe interactions in the healthy mammalian intestine and become substantially impaired in the context of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the molecular pathways controlling the homeostasis of ILC3s remain incompletely defined. Here, we identify that intestinal ILC3s are highly enriched in expression of genes involved in the circadian clock and exhibit diurnal oscillations of these pathways in response to light cues. Classical ILC3 effector functions also exhibited diurnal oscillations, and lineage-specific deletion of BMAL1, a master regulator of the circadian clock, resulted in markedly reduced ILC3s selectively in the intestine. BMAL1-deficient ILC3s exhibit impaired expression of Nr1d1 and Per3, hyperactivation of RORγt-dependent target genes, and elevated proapoptotic pathways. Depletion of the microbiota with antibiotics partially reduced the hyperactivation of BMAL1-deficient ILC3s and restored cellular homeostasis in the intestine. Last, ILC3s isolated from the inflamed intestine of patients with IBD exhibit substantial alterations in expression of several circadian-related genes. Our results collectively define that circadian regulation is essential for the homeostasis of ILC3s in the presence of a complex intestinal microbiota and that this pathway is disrupted in the context of IBD.

The COPD multi-dimensional phenotype: A new classification from the STORICO Italian observational study

Background

This paper is aimed to (i) develop an innovative classification of COPD, multi-dimensional phenotype, based on a multidimensional assessment; (ii) describe the identified multi-dimensional phenotypes.

Methods

An exploratory factor analysis to identify the main classificatory variables and, then, a cluster analysis based on these variables were run to classify the COPD-diagnosed 514 patients enrolled in the STORICO (trial registration number: NCT03105999) study into multi-dimensional phenotypes.

Results

The circadian rhythm of symptoms and health-related quality of life, but neither comorbidity nor respiratory function, qualified as primary classificatory variables. Five multidimensional phenotypes were identified: the MILD COPD characterized by no night-time symptoms and the best health status in terms of quality of life, quality of sleep, level of depression and anxiety, the MILD EMPHYSEMATOUS with prevalent dyspnea in the early-morning and day-time, the SEVERE BRONCHITIC with nocturnal and diurnal cough and phlegm, the SEVERE EMPHYSEMATOUS with nocturnal and diurnal dyspnea and the SEVERE MIXED COPD distinguished by higher frequency of symptoms during 24h and worst quality of life, of sleep and highest levels of depression and anxiety.

Conclusions

Our results showed that properly collected respiratory symptoms play a primary classificatory role of COPD patients. The longitudinal observation will disclose the discriminative and prognostic potential of the proposed multidimensional phenotype.

Trial registration

Trial registration number: NCT03105999, date of registration: 10th April 2017.

Circadian rhythm of COPD symptoms in clinically based phenotypes. Results from the STORICO Italian observational study

BACKGROUND

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) encompasses various phenotypes that severely limit the applicability of precision respiratory medicine. The present investigation is aimed to assess the circadian rhythm of symptoms in pre-defined clinical COPD phenotypes and its association with health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), the quality of sleep and the level of depression/anxiety in each clinical phenotype.

METHODS

The STORICO (NCT03105999) Italian observational prospective cohort study enrolled COPD subjects. A clinical diagnosis of either chronic bronchitis (CB), emphysema (EM) or mixed COPD-asthma (MCA) phenotype was made by clinicians at enrollment. Baseline early-morning, day-time and nocturnal symptoms (gathered via the Night-time, Morning and Day-time Symptoms of COPD questionnaire), HR-QoL (via the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire), anxiety and depression levels (via the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), quality of sleep (via COPD and Asthma Sleep Impact Scale), physical activity (via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire) as well as lung function were recorded.

RESULTS

606 COPD subjects (age 71.4 ± 8.2 years, male 75.1%) were studied. 57.9, 35.5 5.3 and 1.3% of the sample belonged to the CB, EM, MCA and EM + CB phenotypes respectively. The vast majority of subjects reported early-morning and day-time symptoms (79.5 and 79.2% in the CB and 75.8 and 77.7% in the EM groups); the proportion suffering from night-time symptoms was higher in the CB than in the EM group (53.6% vs. 39.5%, p = 0.0016). In both CB and EM, indiscriminately, the presence of symptoms during the 24-h day was associated with poorer HR-QoL, worse quality of sleep and higher levels of anxiety/depression.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight the primary classificatory role of nocturnal symptoms in COPD.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Trial registration number: NCT03105999 , date of registration: 10th April 2017.

Circadian variability in airways characteristics: A spirometric study

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Asthma patients exhibit exacerbation of symptoms in night hours and early morning. Temporal variability in airway caliber have been reported in past using peak expiratory flow rate which represents large airways caliber, while in COPD and Asthma, smaller airways are particularly affected. We studied circadian variability of airway caliber using Forced Expiratory Volume in the First Second (FEV1) and Mid Expiratory Flow rate. Methods: Male volunteers (18-26 years), having similar daily routine were recruited. Spirometry was performed at 5: 00, 8:00, 11:00, 14:00, 17:00, 20:00 and 23:00 h. Data from 104 subjects was analyzed for diurnal variability parameters viz., amplitude percent mean and standard deviation percent of mean. For circadian rhythm Cosinor curve was fitted and rhythm characteristics in terms of MESOR, Amplitude and Acrophase were determined. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant differences in spirometric parameters measured at different time points during the day. In general, spirometric parameters follow a sinusoidal pattern and exhibit minimum values during night hours and maximum values during day time. FEV1 Cosinor rhythm was significant in 31% of subjects (Zero amplitude test). The distribution of acrophase revealed interindividual differences in chronophenotypes. Variability was minimum for FEV1% and maximum for FEF75 suggesting dynamic interplay of airway geometry and neuro-chemical influences. Conclusion: The presence of different chronophenotypes in normal subjects suggests that the nocturnal asthma may also be a different phenotype. Availability of portable spirometers and home monitoring thus may be required for ascertaining chronophenotype and tailoring chronotherapeutic interventions.