scholarly journals Current Challenges in Chronic Bronchial Infection in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1639 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Lopez-Campos ◽  
Marc Miravitlles ◽  
David de la Rosa Carrillo ◽  
Rafael Cantón ◽  
Juan Jose Soler-Cataluña ◽  
...  

Currently, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and their physicians face a number of significant clinical challenges, one of which is the high degree of uncertainty related to chronic bronchial infection (CBI). By reviewing the current literature, several challenges can be identified, which should be considered as goals for research. One of these is to establish the bases for identifying the biological and clinical implications of the presence of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in the airways that should be more clearly elucidated according to the COPD phenotype. Another urgent area of research is the role of long-term preventive antibiotics. Clinical trials need to be carried out with inhaled antibiotic therapy to help clarify the profile of those antibiotics. The role of inhaled corticosteroids in patients with COPD and CBI needs to be studied to instruct the clinical management of these patients. Finally, it should be explored and confirmed whether a suitable antimicrobial treatment during exacerbations may contribute to breaking the vicious circle of CBI in COPD. The present review addresses the current state of the art in these areas to provide evidence which will enable us to progressively plan better healthcare for these patients.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinè ◽  
Biondini ◽  
Semenzato ◽  
Bazzan ◽  
Cosio ◽  
...  

Blood eosinophils measurement, as proxy for tissue eosinophils, has become an important biomarker for exacerbation risk and response to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Its use to determine the pharmacological approach is recommended in the latest COPD guidelines. The potential role of blood eosinophils is mainly based on data derived from post-hoc and retrospective analyses that showed an association between increased blood eosinophils and risk of exacerbations, as well as mitigation of this risk with ICS. Yet other publications, including studies in real life COPD, do not confirm these assumptions. Moreover, anti-eosinophil therapy targeting interleukin (IL)-5 failed to reduce exacerbations in COPD patients with high blood eosinophils, which casts significant doubts on the role of eosinophils in COPD. Furthermore, a reduction of eosinophils might be harmful since COPD patients with relatively high eosinophils have better pulmonary function, better life quality, less infections and longer survival. These effects are probably linked to the role of eosinophils in the immune response against pathogens. In conclusion, in COPD, high blood eosinophils are widely used as a biomarker for exacerbation risk and response to ICS. However, much is yet to be learned about the reasons for the high eosinophil counts, their variations and their controversial effects on the fate of COPD patients.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 151-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gautam Rawal ◽  
Sankalp Yadav

AbstractCachexia and muscle wasting is a frequent but partly reversible complication in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and affects the disease progression and prognosis. Weight loss in COPD is a consequence of increased energy requirements unbalanced by dietary intake. Nutritional supplement therapy has been shown to be effective for maintaining and improving the muscle strength and exercise tolerance in poorly nourished COPD patients, thereby decreasing morbidity and mortality. This mini review discusses the role of nutritional supplement therapy in the treatment of COPD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-87
Author(s):  
I. V. Leshchenko ◽  
A. S. Meshcheryakova

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the leading cause of death in the structure of respiratory diseases. The problem of rational pharmacotherapy of COPD have attracted attention of the medical scientific society for many years. The understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease has deepened and approaches to the therapy have changed. Some COPD patients need regular fixed-combination therapy: long-acting bronchodilators (LABD) and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in order to prevent exacerbations and reduce the severity of symptoms of the disease. Blood eosinophils count is one of criteria for choosing regular therapy. The appearance of fixed triple combinations of ICS/LABD increased the effectiveness of COPD therapy, and a new delivery device for fixed combination of budesonide/formoterol makes it possible to use ICS successfully in the most severe patients.


2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson Chuck ◽  
Philip Jacobs ◽  
Irvin Mayers ◽  
Darcy Marciniuk

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that combination therapy (CT) in the form of long-acting beta2-agonists (LABAs) and inhaled corticosteroids can improve lung function for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).OBJECTIVE: To determine the cost-effectiveness of using CT in none, all or a selected group of COPD patients.METHODS: A Markov model was designed to compare four treatment strategies: no use of CT regardless of COPD severity (patients receive LABA only); use of CT in patients with stage 3 disease only (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] less than 35% of predicted); use of CT in patients with stages 2 and 3 disease only (FEV1less than 50% of predicted); and use of CT in all patients regardless of severity of COPD. Estimates of mortality, exacerbation and disease progression rates, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and costs were derived from the literature. Three-year and lifetime time horizons were used. The analysis was conducted from a health systems perspective.RESULTS: CT was associated with a cost of $39,000 per QALY if given to patients with stage 3 disease, $47,500 per QALY if given to patients with stages 2 and 3 disease, and $450,333 per QALY if given to all COPD patients. Results were robust to various assumptions tested in a Monte Carlo simulation.CONCLUSION: Providing CT for COPD patients in stage 2 or 3 disease is cost-effective. The message to family physicians and specialists is that as FEV1worsens and reaches 50% of predicted values, CT is recommended.


2004 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordana PAVLISA ◽  
Veljko VRBANIC ◽  
Vesna KUSEC ◽  
Branimir JAKSIC

In order to determine the initial values and dynamic changes of EPO (erythropoietin) after therapy, 57 consecutively presenting, typical COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients with chronic hypoxia and acute exacerbated serum EPO levels were serially measured. Initial mean EPO levels were slightly above the normal range (41.4±83.5 units/l), but in the majority of patients the initial EPO levels were significantly reduced. Following the correction of hypoxaemia, mean EPO levels decreased to 14.1±16.9 units/l (P=0.0093). However, not all COPD patients showed this pattern; in an important subset of patients (36.8%), who had initially lower EPO levels and lower erythrocyte count, EPO levels were significantly increased (by more than 60%; P=0.0028) on the second day of treatment, despite correction of the hypoxaemia. This finding was unexpected and paradoxical when compared with physiological studies addressing the same issue. The data presented support previous reports of variable EPO levels in severely hypoxic COPD patients and suggest that the haematological response is already hampered at an early stage, at the level of EPO production, and much less likely at later steps in the haemopoietic response by failure to respond to elevated EPO levels. Our data are consistent with recent discoveries that the O2 sensing and regulation of EPO production is a complex process in which multiple factors, including cytokines and therapeutic agents, play a role by enhancing or inhibiting the response. We believe that further studies on this clinical condition are complementary to basic physiological research and may help to elucidate the role of cytokines and other individual factors in complex clinical hypoxic situations.


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