Is Triple Therapy Better than Dual Long-Acting Bronchodilators for COPD Patients?

Some patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease benefitted, but with excess risk for pneumonia.

Despite current guideline recommendations, many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are treated with triple therapy (i.e., long-acting β-agonist [LABA], long-acting antimuscarinic [LAMA], and inhaled corticosteroid [ICS]) without undergoing a trial of dual long-acting bronchodilators (LABA/LAMA). In this observational study, U.K. researchers used a primary care database to compare triple therapy and dual-bronchodilator therapy in a cohort of patients with COPD: Almost 7000 patients (age, ≥55) who started triple therapy in 2002 through 2015 were matched by propensity score with 2000 patients who started dual-bronchodilator therapy.

At 1 year, about 45% of patients had experienced moderate-to-severe COPD exacerbations (r…

Reviewing Author

David J. Amrol, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s BureauAstraZeneca; Incyte

David J. Amrol, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s BureauAstraZeneca; Incyte

Is Triple Therapy Better than Dual Long-Acting Bronchodilators for COPD Patients?

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Reviewing Author