Withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids in individuals with COPD - a systematic review and comment on trial methodology

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) reduce COPD exacerbation frequency and slow decline in health related quality of life but have little effect on lung function, do not reduce mortality, and increase the risk of pneumonia. We systematically reviewed trials in which ICS have been withdrawn from patients with COPD, with the aim of determining the effect of withdrawal, understanding the differing results between trials, and making recommendations for improving methodology in future trials where medication is withdrawn. Trials were identified by two independent reviewers using MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL, citations of identified studies were checked, and experts contacted to identify further studies. Data extraction was completed independently by two reviewers. The methodological quality of each trial was determined by assessing possible sources of systematic bias as recommended by the Cochrane collaboration. We included four trials; the quality of three was adequate. In all trials, outcomes were generally worse for patients who had had ICS withdrawn, but differences between outcomes for these patients and patients who continued with medication were mostly small and not statistically significant. Due to data paucity we performed only one meta-analysis; this indicated that patients who had had medication withdrawn were 1.11 (95% CI 0.84 to 1.46) times more likely to have an exacerbation in the following year, but the definition of exacerbations was not consistent between the three trials, and the impact of withdrawal was smaller in recent trials which were also trials conducted under conditions that reflected routine practice. There is no evidence from this review that withdrawing ICS in routine practice results in important deterioration in patient outcomes. Furthermore, the extent of increase in exacerbations depends on the way exacerbations are defined and managed and may depend on the use of other medication. In trials where medication is withdrawn, investigators should report other medication use, definitions of exacerbations and management of patients clearly. Intention to treat analyses should be used and interpreted appropriately.     

间歇声门下吸引对机械通气患者呼吸机相关性肺炎发生率的影响

目的 探讨可冲洗式导管间歇声门下吸引对机械通气患者呼吸机相关性肺炎发生率的影响.方法 选取2010年7月-2011年8月行机械通气的患者246例作为研究对象;将其随机分为观察组和对照组,对照组采用常规气管导管进行机械通气,观察组采用间歇声门 下吸引方法.结果 常规气管导管行机械通气的患者VAP的发生率为45.8％,而采用可冲洗导管间歇吸引行机械通气的患者VAP的发生率为23.8％,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).结论 可冲洗导管间歇吸引声门下滞留物能明显降低机械通气患者呼吸机相关性肺炎发生率,值得临床推广应用.     

Withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids can be safe in COPD patients at low risk of exacerbation: a real-life study on the appropriateness of treatment in moderate COPD patients (OPTIMO)

Background

It has been suggested that withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in COPD patients on maintenance treatment results in deterioration of symptoms, lung function and exacerbations. The aim of this real-life, prospective, multicentric study was to investigate whether withdrawal of ICS in COPD patients at low risk of exacerbation is linked to a deterioration in lung function and symptoms and to a higher frequency of exacerbations.

Methods

914 COPD patients, on maintenance therapy with bronchodilators and ICS, FEV₁>50% predicted, and <2 exacerbations/year were recruited. Upon decision of the primary physicians, 59% of patients continued their ICS treatment whereas in 41% of patients ICS were withdrawn and regular therapy was continued with long-acting bronchodilators mostly (91% of patients). FEV₁, CAT (COPD Assessment Test), and occurrence of exacerbations were measured at the beginning (T0) and at the end (T6) of the 6 months observational period.

Results

816 patients (89.3%) concluded the study. FEV₁, CAT and exacerbations history were similar in the two groups (ICS and no ICS) at T0 and at T6. We did not observe any deterioration of lung function symptoms, and exacerbation rate between the two groups at T0 and T6.

Conclusions

We conclude that the withdrawal of ICS, in COPD patients at low risk of exacerbation, can be safe provided that patients are left on maintenance treatment with long-acting bronchodilators.     

Use of the low-dose corticotropin stimulation test for the monitoring of children with asthma treated with inhaled corticosteroids

OBJECTIVE: Subnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function and rare cases of adrenal crisis have been reported in asthmatic children treated with inhaled corticosteroids. We investigated subnormal HPA activity and followed up affected patients until recovery of normal HPA functions. STUDY DESIGN: 100 children with persistent asthma underwent low-dose corticotropin testing, with the administration of 1 microg of 1-24 ACTH intravenously. Treatments were beclomethasone dipropionate as a metered-dose inhaler, n = 14, budesonide as a dry-powder inhaler, n = 16, fluticasone propionate as a metered-dose inhaler n = 31 or a dry-powder inhaler n = 39. The mean commercially labelled dose was 520 +/- 29 microg/day (mean +/- SEM, range: 160-1,000) and the equipotent dose (which compares the efficiency of these drugs for treating asthma and their responsibility for systemic effects) was 890 +/- 55 microg/day (range: 200-2,000). RESULTS: The mean stimulated cortisol level +/- SEM (and range) of the patient was 482 +/- 12 (148-801), and that of 40 age-matched controls was 580 +/- 12.5 (439-726), (SD = 79). The result was subnormal (more than 2 SD below the mean of the controls) in28 of the 100 patients. One-four stepwise decreases of 10-100% in the daily equipotent doses received by the patients with abnormal low-dose corticotropin testing results led to normal results in subsequent low-dose corticotropin testing in 27 retested patients. The mean time interval between two tests was 5 months (range: 2-6 months) and the mean period required for normalization of the test was 13 months (range: 2-21). Only one case of asthma exacerbation and no adrenal crisis were observed over these periods. CONCLUSIONS: Decreasing daily equipotent doses led to recovery of normal HPA function without asthma exacerbation. Thus, a revision of the doses of inhaled corticosteroids used in asthmatic children with a progressive decrease to the consensus-recommended doses should decrease the systemic effects of inhaled corticosteroids, while minimizing the risk of asthma exacerbation.     

Risk of herpes zoster in patients prescribed inhaled corticosteroids: a cohort study

Background

Childhood asthma prevalence is widely measured by parental proxy report of physician-diagnosed asthma in questionnaires. Our objective was to validate this measure in a North American population.

Methods

The 2884 study participants were a subsample of 5619 school children aged 5 to 9 years from 231 schools participating in the Toronto Child Health Evaluation Questionnaire study in 2006. We compared agreement between "questionnaire diagnosis" and a previously validated "health claims data diagnosis". Sensitivity, specificity and kappa were calculated for the questionnaire diagnosis using the health claims diagnosis as the reference standard.

Results

Prevalence of asthma was 15.7% by questionnaire and 21.4% by health claims data. Questionnaire diagnosis was insensitive (59.0%) but specific (95.9%) for asthma. When children with asthma-related symptoms were excluded, the sensitivity increased (83.6%), and specificity remained high (93.6%).

Conclusions

Our results show that parental report of asthma by questionnaire has low sensitivity but high specificity as an asthma prevalence measure. In addition, children with "asthma-related symptoms" may represent a large fraction of under-diagnosed asthma and they should be excluded from the inception cohort for risk factor studies.     

Low intensity,long-term outpatient rehabilitation in COPD: a randomised controlled trial

Background

Most pulmonary rehabilitation programmes currently involve 2–3 sessions per week as recommended by international guidelines. We aimed to investigate whether relevant improvements in physical capabilities and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could be achieved by a long-term, low intensity, once weekly rehabilitation programme using limited resources.

Methods

100 patients with moderate to severe COPD were randomised to a continuous outpatient interdisciplinary rehabilitation programme or standard care. Physiotherapy-led supervised outpatient training sessions were performed once weekly in addition to educational elements. Outcome measures at baseline and after 26 weeks were 6-minute-walk-test, cycle ergometry, and health-related quality of life.

Results

37 patients in the training group and 44 patients in the control group completed the study. After 26 weeks there were clinically significant differences between the groups for 6 minute-walk-distance (+59 m, 95% CI 28–89 m), maximum work load (+7.4 Watt, 95% CI 0.5-13.4 Watt) and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire score (−5 points, 95% CI −10 to −1 points). Total staff costs of the programme per participant were ≤ €625.

Conclusion

Clinically meaningful improvements in physical capabilities and health-related quality of life may be achieved using long-term pulmonary rehabilitation programmes of lower intensity than currently recommended. Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01195402","term_id":"NCT01195402"}}NCT01195402.     

激素治疗大疱性疾病引起真菌感染回顾性分析

目的研究糖皮质激素治疗大疱性疾病患者发生医院真菌感染的病原菌分类、危险因素和防治对策。方法收集67例大疱性类天疱疮和38例天疱疮患者糖皮质激素治疗的临床资料,计算医院真菌感染率,分析相关危险因素。结果大疱性疾病患者糖皮质激素治疗出现医院真菌感染率达32.38%,口腔真菌感染率为27.61%,肺部真菌感染率为13.33%,主要病原菌分别为白念珠菌(69.77%),热带念珠菌(11.63%)和近平滑念珠菌(6.98%)。糖皮质激素剂量、免疫抑制剂、抗生素、住院日及糖尿病病史明显增加真菌感染危险,其中免疫抑制剂、抗生素和糖尿病病史为独立危险因素。结论糖皮质激素治疗大疱性疾病患者院内真菌感染发生率高,免疫抑制剂、抗生素和糖尿病病史是其主要危险因素。     

慢性阻塞性肺病继发真菌性肺炎患者痰培养结果及其发病高危因素分析

目的分析慢性阻塞性肺病(COPD)继发真菌性肺炎患者痰液细菌培养结果,并分析其发病高危因素。方法选择2016年1月至2019年1月我院收治的85例COPD继发真菌性肺炎患者纳为观察组,采集患者痰液标本进行真菌培养并统计培养结果。选择同期80例未发生真菌性肺炎的COPD患者作为对照组。比较两组患者性别、年龄、糖皮质激素使用情况等资料,并分析COPD患者继发真菌性肺炎的危险因素。结果 85例COPD继发真菌性肺炎患者中共检出87株病原性真菌。痰培养结果中白假丝酵母(41.38%)与曲霉菌属(28.74%)占比最高。观察组与对照组患者使用广谱抗菌药物、发生低蛋白血症、机械通气、糖皮质激素使用及合并糖尿病情况差异均有统计学意义(χ~2或t=19.55、20.82、14.53、22.77、7.43,P0.05),而两组患者性别构成比及年龄差异无统计学意义(χ~2或t=0.17、1.61,P0.05)。Logistic多因素回归分析提示,使用糖皮质激素与广谱抗菌药物、发生低蛋白血症及机械通气史均是导致COPD继发真菌性肺炎的独立危险因素(OR=7.493、4.802、5.900、1.799,P0.05)。结论在预防COPD继发真菌性感染时应合理并控制性使用糖皮质激素与广谱抗菌药物,积极纠正低蛋白血症,缩短患者通气时间并保证在无菌条件下进行机械通气。     

血浆N端脑钠肽前体与COPD合并慢性肺源性心脏病患者肺动脉压的相关性分析

目的探讨血浆N端脑钠肽前体与COPD合并慢性肺源性心脏病患者肺动脉压的相关性。方法将我院收治的94例COPD稳定期患者,根据心脏彩超检查明确合并慢性肺心病患者分为观察组46例,单纯COPD患者分为对照组48例,采用化学发光法测定两组患者血浆NT-proBNP水平,心脏彩超检查两组患者右心室前壁厚度、右心室舒张末期内径、左室射血分数、主肺动脉宽度、肺动脉压,并进行比较。结果与对照组比较,观察组血浆NT-proBNP水平明显升高(P0.05),右心室前壁厚度、右心室舒张末期内径、主肺动脉宽度、肺动脉压明显升高(P0.05)。血浆NT-proBNP水平与肺动脉压成明显正相关(r=-0.284,P0.01)。结论 COPD合并慢性肺心病患者血浆NT-proBNP水平升高,有助于评估肺动脉高压的严重程度。     

Plasma hepcidin correlates positively with interleukin-6 in patients undergoing pulmonary endarterectomy

Hepcidin, a recently discovered antimicrobial peptide synthesized in the liver, was identified to be the key mediator of iron metabolism and distribution. Despite our knowledge of hepcidin increased in recent years, there are only limited data on hepcidin regulation during systemic inflammatory response in human subjects. In a prospective study, the time course of plasma hepcidin was analyzed in relations to six inflammatory parameters - plasma cytokines and acute-phase proteins in patients undergoing uncomplicated pulmonary endarterectomy. Twenty-four patients (males, aged 52.6+/-10.2 years, treated with pulmonary endarterectomy in a deep hypothermic circulatory arrest) were enrolled into study. Hepcidin, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, C-reactive protein, alpha(1)-antitrypsin and ceruloplasmin arterial concentrations were measured before surgery and repeatedly within 120 h post-operatively. Hemodynamic parameters, hematocrit and markers of iron metabolism were followed up. In a postoperative period, hepcidin increased from preoperative level 8.9 ng/ml (6.2-10.7) (median and interquartile range) to maximum 16.4 ng/ml (14.1-18.7) measured 72 h after the end of surgery. Maximum post-operative concentrations of hepcidin correlated positively with maximum IL-6 levels. Both hepcidin and IL-6 maximum concentrations correlated positively with extracorporeal circulation time. In conclusions, the study demonstrated that plasma hepcidin is a positive acute-phase reactant in relation to an uncomplicated large cardiac surgery. Hepcidin increase was related to IL-6 concentrations and to the duration of surgical procedure. Our clinical findings are in conformity with recent experimental studies defining hepcidin as a type II acute-phase protein.     

老年慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者肺部感染病原菌与肠道定植菌的关系

目的 探讨老年慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)患者肺部感染病原菌与肠道定植菌的关系,为后续研究提供参考。 方法 选择2018年7月至2019年7月我院呼吸内科收治的60例COPD患者作为研究对象,根据是否合并肺部感染将患者分为感染组(n=38)和未感染组(n=22)。收集患者痰和粪便标本进行细菌培养,比较两组患者痰和粪便细菌检出情况,并对痰培养及粪便培养结果进行直线相关回归分析。 结果 感染组患者痰标本中铜绿假单胞菌、肺炎克雷伯菌、鲍曼不动杆菌及大肠埃希菌检出率高于未感染组(均P结论 老年COPD合并肺部感染患者病原菌与肠道定植菌具有一定相关性,临床治疗中应重视COPD患者肠道微生态平衡以降低肺部感染发生率。     

DNA damage in peripheral blood of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a condition characterized by chronic airway inflammation and remodeling, lung parenchymal inflammation, and destruction resulting in expiratory airflow obstruction, hyperinflation of the lung with loss of elastic recoil, and impairment of gas exchange. Skeletal muscles in individuals with COPD generate free radicals at rest, and production increases during contractile activity. Overproduction of free radicals may result in oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in favor of oxidants. This study evaluated the levels of genetic damage in peripheral blood of patients with COPD using the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) and the comet assays. The study was conducted with 25 patients with COPD and 25 controls matched for age and sex. Results of both comet and CBMN assays showed an increase in the level of DNA damage. In the group of patients with COPD, the mean frequency of binucleate cells with micronuclei was 6.72+/-3.02, and in the control group, 4.20+/-2.08 (p=0.00233). Mean comet value was 26.84+/-19.61 in patients with COPD and 7.25+/-7.57 in the control group (p=0.00004). The increased frequency of micronuclei in patients with COPD was primarily assigned to clastogenic events and DNA amplification because the frequency of nucleoplasmic bridges and buds was also increased. Oxidative stress in lung cells is a constant source of free radicals that damage genetic material of both lung and circulating cells.