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Spiriva combined with inhaled steroid, long-acting bronchodilator improves COPD survival in VA study
News-Medical.net
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a greater chance of survival when treated with a combination of drugs that includes tiotropium, according to research reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Tiotropium is marketed under the brand name Spiriva. It is commonly prescribed to COPD patients, including those with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
The combination of Spiriva taken with two other drugs, an inhaled corticosteroid and a long-acting beta agonist, reduced both exacerbations and hospitalizations, and also reduced deaths by 40 percent in a study involving more than 40,000 patients enrolled in the Veterans Administration healthcare system.
However, in the same study, Spiriva given in combination with two other drugs actually resulted in worsening exacerbations and hospitalizations, and more deaths, researchers said.
COPD makes breathing hard and worsens over time. COPD can cause coughing that produces large amounts of mucus, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and other symptoms.
More than 12 million people are currently diagnosed with COPD, and an additional 12 million likely have the disease and don’t know it, according to the National Institutes of Health.
