Discriminate use of antibiotics for exacerbation of COPD

Shufeng Jiedu capsule for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a protocol of multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Published clinical trials suggest that the Chinese patent herbal medicine Shufeng Jiedu capsule (SFJD) is safe and may be effective for treating acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). However, these effects have been reported with low or very low certainty evidence. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of SFJD for AECOPD.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This study is designed as a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Three hundred patients with moderate or severe hospitalised AECOPD will be recruited in Beijing, Shanghai and Hefei. Participants will be randomly assigned to SFJD and usual care or placebo and usual care at a ratio of 1:1. SFJD and placebo will be administered orally four capsules three times daily for 7 consecutive days followed by an 8-week follow-up period. The primary outcome will be COPD symptom severity as measured by the EXAcerbation of Chronic Pulmonary Disease Tool score. Secondary outcomes include clinical symptoms, quality of life, length of hospital stay, a total dose of antibiotics, the frequency of recurrence of AECOPD, haematological biomarkers, death and adverse events. This study will answer the question of whether SFJD was safe to use and will improve symptoms in people with AECOPD, and will therefore reduce the necessity for antibiotics, the risk and duration of admission to hospital, and the risk of recurrence.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The ethics committee of the first affiliated hospital of Anhui Medical University, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine affiliated Dongzhimen hospital and fifth people's hospital of Shanghai Fudan University approved the study protocol. Informed written consent will be obtained from all the participants. The results of this trial will be disseminated at academic conferences and in peer-reviewed publications.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN99049821.

Point-of-care procalcitonin test to reduce antibiotic exposure in patients hospitalized with acute exacerbation of COPD

Background

This study was conducted to investigate whether point-of-care (POC) procalcitonin (PCT) measurement can reduce redundant antibiotic treatment in patients hospitalized with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD).

Methods

One-hundred and twenty adult patients admitted with AECOPD were enrolled in this open-label randomized trial. Patients were allocated to either the POC PCT-guided intervention arm (n=62) or the control arm, in which antibiotic therapy followed local guidelines (n=58).

Results

The median duration of antibiotic exposure was 3.5 (interquartile range [IQR] 0–10) days in the PCT-arm vs 8.5 (IQR 1–11) days in the control arm (P=0.0169, Wilcoxon) for the intention-to-treat population. The proportion of patients using antibiotics for ≥5 days within the 28-day follow-up was 41.9% (PCT-arm) vs 67.2% (P=0.006, Fisher’s exact) in the intention-to-treat population. For the per-protocol population, the proportions were 21.1% (PCT-arm) vs 73.9% (P<0.00001, Fisher’s exact). Within 28-day follow-up, one patient died in the PCT-arm and two died in the control arm. A composite harm end point consisting of death, rehospitalization, or intensive care unit admission, all within 28 days, showed no apparent difference.

Conclusion

Our study shows that the implementation of a POC PCT-guided algorithm can be used to substantially reduce antibiotic exposure in patients hospitalized with AECOPD, with no apparent harm.

Serum Procalcitonin as a Biomarker for the Prediction of Bacterial Exacerbation and Mortality in Severe COPD Exacerbations Requiring Mechanical Ventilation

BACKGROUND

Procalcitonin (PCT) is being used as a marker of bacterial infections. Although there are several studies showing the diagnostic yield of PCT to differentiate bacterial involvement in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations (COPDE), the prognostic yield of PCT in severe COPDE has been studied less.

OBJECTIVES

The primary aim was to determine whether the level of serum PCT at admission in severe COPDE serves as a prognostic biomarker for hospital mortality. The secondary aim was to determine the role of PCT in identifying a bacterial exacerbation.

METHODS

A total of 63 COPDE patients (median age 71 years; male 58.7%) were retrospectively analyzed from our intensive care unit database.

RESULTS

The hospital mortality rate was 23.8%. Admission PCT levels were higher in patients who died during hospitalization (0.66 vs. 0.17 ng/ml; p = 0.014). This association between hospital mortality and serum PCT level remained significant in a multivariate analysis; for every 1 ng/ml increase in PCT level, hospital mortality increased 1.85 times (odds ratio; 95% confidence interval: 1.07-3.19; p = 0.026). The optimal admission PCT threshold was 0.25 ng/ml in order to discern patients who had bacterial exacerbation with a sensitivity of 63%, a specificity of 67%, and a negative predictive value of 80%. The negative predictive value increased to 89% when both the admission and follow-up PCT levels remained <0.25 ng/ml.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that admission PCT levels have a prognostic importance in estimating hospital mortality among patients with severe COPDE. A PCT level <0.25 ng/ml at the time of admission and during follow-up is suggestive of the absence of a bacterial cause of COPDE.

Bacterial flora in the sputum and comorbidity in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD

OBJECTIVE

To determine in patients admitted with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD) the association between the isolation of potential pathogens in a conventional sputum culture and comorbidities.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The ESMI study is a multicenter observational study. Patients with AE-COPD admitted to the Internal Medicine departments of 70 hospitals were included. The clinical characteristics, treatments, and comorbidities were gathered. The results of conventional sputum cultures were recorded.

RESULTS

A total of 536 patients were included, of which 161 produced valid sputum and a potentially pathogenic microorganism was isolated from 88 subjects (16.4%). The isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (30.7%) was associated with a greater severity of the lung disease (previous admissions [P= 0.026], dyspnea scale [P=0.047], post-broncodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) [P=0.005], and the BODEx index [P=0.009]); also with higher prevalence of cor pulmonale (P=0.017), heart failure (P=0.048), and cerebrovascular disease (P=0.026). Streptococcus pneumoniae (26.1%) was associated with more comorbidity according to number of diseases (P=0.018); notably, peripheral artery disease (P=0.033), hypertension (P=0.029), dyslipidemia (P=0.039), osteoporosis (P=0.0001), and depression (P=0.005).

CONCLUSION

Patients with AE-COPD and P. aeruginosa present higher severity of COPD, while those with S. pneumoniae present greater comorbidity. The potentially pathogenic microorganism obtained in the sputum culture depends on the associated comorbidities.

Antibiotic Prescription for COPD Exacerbations Admitted to Hospital: European COPD Audit

Objective

Appropriate use of antibiotics in the management of hospitalised patients with COPD exacerbations is defined within the GOLD strategy. This paper analyses the factors associated with antibiotic prescribing in patients to better understand how prescribing may be improved.

Methods

The European COPD audit was a study of clinical care in 384 hospitals from 13 European countries between 2010 and 2011 enrolling 16018 patients. Those admitted to hospital due to a clinician-made diagnosis of exacerbation of COPD at the time of discharge were audited. We defined antibiotic prescribing compliance as consistent with the GOLD 2010 recommendations. Two different multivariate models were used to evaluate factors associated with the prescription of antibiotics and the guideline-compliant prescriptions.

Results

Overall 86% of admissions were given antibiotics but only 61.4% cases met the GOLD recommendations. Antibiotics were more likely to be given in hospital and at discharge if received prior to admission. Antibiotic prescription was more likely in patients who met the GOLD recommendations and in those with radiological consolidation but there was also a significant use of antibiotics in patients who did not meet either criterion. Patients cared for on a Respiratory Ward were more likely to receive GOLD compliant antibiotic management.

Conclusions

The present study describes the audited in-hospital antibiotic prescription for COPD exacerbation across different European countries. In general, there is an apparent overuse of antibiotics likely to be associated with both patient and practice-related variables.

Phenotyping the heterogeneity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a heterogeneous disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Current diagnostic criteria based on the presence of fixed airflow obstruction and symptoms do not integrate the complex pathological changes occurring within lung, do not define different airway inflammatory patterns, nor do they define different physiological changes or differences in structure as can be defined by imaging. Over recent years, there has been interest in describing this heterogeneity and using this information to subgroup patients into COPD phenotypes. Most approaches to phenotyping have considered disease at a single scale and have not integrated information from different scales (e.g. organ-whole person, tissue-organ, cell-tissue and gene-cell) of disease to provide multi-dimensional phenotypes. Integration of disease biology with clinical expression is critical to improve understanding of this disease. When combined with biostatistical modelling, this information may lead to identification of new drug targets, new end points for clinical trials and targeted treatment for subgroups of COPD patients. It is hoped this will ultimately improve COPD outcomes and represent a move towards personalised medicine. In the present review, we will consider these aspects of multi-dimensional phenotyping in more detail.