Inhaled Therapies and Decline in Lung Function in COPD

In the landmark TORCH study, researchers compared inhaled fluticasone alone, inhaled salmeterol alone, combined fluticasone/salmeterol, and placebo in 6000 patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Last year’s initial publication of results from this trial focused on clinical outcomes (JW Feb 21 2007); in this new report, the researchers focus on changes in lung function during the 3-year study.

Compared with the rate of FEV₁ decline in the placebo group (55 mL annually), the rate of decline was significantly lower in each of the three treatment groups (42, 42, and 39 mL annually in the fluticasone, salmeterol, and combined-therapy groups, respectively). No significant differences were found between active thera…