Study Compares Triple, Dual Therapies for COPD

A new study comparing triple therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) against dual therapy resulted in a lower rate of moderate or severe COPD exacerbations and a lower rate of hospitalizations. However, triple therapy had a much higher incidence of pneumonia, which the researchers said was to be expected.

Triple inhaled therapy for COPD consists of a combined inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA). Triple therapy is recommended by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) for patients who experience recurrent exacerbations despite treatment with either a dual bronchodilator or LABA/ICS combination. The GOLD guidelines do not recommend ICS as a monotherapy given the pneumonia risks.

Results of the study—The Informing the Pathway of COPD Treatment (IMPACT) trial—were published in The New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday.1 The 1-year randomized trial involved 10,355 patients with COPD.

Click to continue reading on The American Journal of Managed Care.