Stepping Down Therapy in COPD.

Link to article at PubMed

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Stepping Down Therapy in COPD.

N Engl J Med. 2014 Sep 8;

Authors: Reilly JJ

Abstract
Patients with symptomatic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are commonly treated with inhaled medications that fall into three classes: beta-agonists, muscarinic antagonists, and glucocorticoids. Most patients with moderate-to-severe COPD are receiving one or more inhaled agents; inhaled glucocorticoids and inhaled long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs) are more commonly used than are long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs).(1)-(3) However, the track record for inhaled medications in COPD is mixed. All three classes of drugs produce modest improvements in airflow obstruction, provide symptomatic benefit, and reduce the rate of COPD exacerbations.(1),(2),(4),(5) But they do not appear to alter the rate of the . . .

PMID: 25196116 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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