Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Efficacy and tolerability of budesonide/formoterol added to tiotropium compared with tiotropium alone in patients with severe or very severe COPD: A randomized, multicentre study in East Asia.
Triple combination therapy with tiotropium plus budesonide/formoterol has improved lung function and reduced exacerbation risk in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Western countries, but no such data exist for East Asian patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of adding budesonide/formoterol to tiotropium compared with tiotropium alone in East Asian patients with severe/very severe COPD. ⋯ NCT01397890 at Clinicaltrials.gov.
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The natural history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is usually described with a focus on change in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1 ) over time as this allows for exploration of risk factors for an accelerated decline-and thus of developing COPD. From epidemiological studies we have recognized important risk factors such as smoking, exposure to biomass and occupational exposures, but we have also learnt about features such as chronic bronchitis, airway hyper-responsiveness and asthma that seem to accelerate decline in FEV1 independent of exposures. In addition we are gradually beginning to better link early life events to subsequent risk of disease in adulthood. Although more complicated, our current understanding of COPD has come a long way from being a simple image of smoking leading to poor lungs.
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Letter Case Reports
Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis in association with carcinomas.
PPFE is a rare disease characterized by upper lobe pleural fibrosis and parenchymal fibroelastosis. Its aetiology is considered idiopathic, although possible causative factors have been described. ⋯ We identified six patients with PPFE, four of them with a coexisting malignancy. The case series suggests that PPFE might be an implication of varying factors rather than being an exclusively idiopathic condition.
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Smoking is a common risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We evaluated the prevalence of undiagnosed COPD in patients with CAD and assessed the relationship between airflow obstruction and markers of cardiac stress. ⋯ Undiagnosed airflow obstruction is common among patients with CAD who have undergone PCI. Severity of airflow limitation is associated with increasing cardiac stress.