• Jin-Ping Zheng, Jing Zhang, Li-Jun Ma, Ping Chen, Mao Huang, Xue-Mei Ou, Zi-Wen Zhao, Shu-Juan Jiang, Jie Cao, and Wanzhen Yao.
• State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
• Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2019 Jan 1; 14: 2725-2731.

PurposeThe current guidelines recommend the use of systemic corticosteroids (SCS) as the optimal treatment for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). The aim of this real-world study was to evaluate whether nebulized budesonide (NBS) could also be used as an initial treatment for AECOPD.Patients And MethodsAECOPD patients initially treated with NBS or SCS (oral/intravenous) were enrolled. A large-scale, long-term multicenter cohort study of AECOPD patients was performed to analyze outcomes for each treatment (NCT02051166).ResultsInitial NBS and SCS treatment resulted in similar outcomes in terms of improvements in FEV1, PaO2, SaO2, and PaCO2. Disease severity affected outcome similarly in both groups. When the groups were stratified according to whether the initial treatment was subsequently intensified or reduced, more intubation was seen in the groups in which initial treatment was intensified. NBS escalation and SCS reduction groups spent more days in the hospital. The NBS escalation group was associated with the highest medical expenditure and a relatively higher rate of new-onset pneumonia. The NBS maintenance/reduction group showed the lowest mortality rate between groups. Stratification according to initial PaCO2 level showed more intubation in the groups with high initial PaCO2 concentrations.ConclusionThese results indicate that NBS may be used as an initial treatment in certain AECOPD patients, and further studies are needed to better define those most likely to benefit.© 2019 Zheng et al.

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