Prescription patterns and effectiveness of medications for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A retrospective study of real-world settings.

This study aimed to define real-world prescription patterns in Korea and compare the effectiveness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) medications. We used national claims data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in Korea and examined patients who were first diagnosed with COPD and started treatment between May 1, 2017, and April 30, 2018, with no change in drug regimen. Among 30,784 patients with COPD, long-acting ß2 agonist (LABA) combined with long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) (32.7%), inhaled corticosteroid-LABA (ICS-LABA) (25.6%), LAMA (18.3%), ICS (5.8%), or LABA (4.6%) were prescribed as the first-choice inhalers. The use of LABA-LAMA (hazard ratio [HR], 0.248-0.584), LAMA (HR, 0.320-0.641), ICS-LABA (HR, 0.325-0.643), and xanthine (HR, 0.563-0.828) significantly reduced the total and severe exacerbation rates compared with no use of each medication. However, the use of ICS or LABA individually did not yield such effects. The continued use of LABA-LAMA, LAMA, and ICS-LABA showed a significant effect on exacerbation rate, whereas the long-term use of ICS, LABA, and xanthine did not. Moreover, some high doses of ICS-LABA did not show significant effects. This real-world study revealed that LAMA and/or LABA could be the first choice of therapy, as recommended by recent guidelines. However, ICS, xanthine, and high-dose ICS-LABA are still being prescribed frequently as first-line drugs in Korea.

A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Asthma Medications on Asthma Exacerbations in Real World National Cohort.

Background: Although a wide variety of asthma medications have been developed and are used in clinical practice, there is limited evidence of their comparative effects on asthma exacerbations. Methods: We used claims data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. We selected subjects commencing asthma treatment between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, with no change in drug regimen. The primary outcome was asthma exacerbation requiring systemic corticosteroids. Cox regression analysis was used to assess outcomes considering the exacerbation-free period. Results: Of the 254,951 asthma subjects, 107,694 subjects (42.2%) experienced asthma exacerbation. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.378-0.508), ICS-long-acting ß 2-agonist (LABAs) (HR, 0.284-0.479), long-acting muscarine antagonists (LAMAs) (HR, 0.432-0.572), leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) (HR, 0.371-0.419), and xanthines (HR, 0.326-0.482) significantly reduced the rate of first and second exacerbation of asthma (all P-values, <0.001). The clinical effectiveness of asthma medications varied according to the active ingredient (HR 0.164-0.670) and was significant for all active ingredients (all P-values, <0.001). The effectiveness of combination treatment using ICS-LABA and LTRA varied (HR, 0.159-0.670); however, all combination treatment options evaluated were effective in preventing asthma exacerbations (all P-values, <0.001). Long-term use of ICS-LABA (HR, 0.278-0.653), LTRA (HR, 0.259-0.628), and xanthines (HR, 0.351-0.783) showed consistent effectiveness (all P-values, <0.001). Conclusion: This real-world study showed that the effectiveness of asthma medications varied according to drug type, active ingredient, combination, and period of use, although effectiveness was significant in all cases studied.

Particulate inverse opal carbon electrodes for lithium-ion batteries.

Inverse opal carbon materials were used as anodes for lithium ion batteries. We applied particulate inverse opal structures and their dispersion in the formation of anode electrodes via solution casting. We prepared aminophenyl-grafted inverse opal carbons (a-IOC), inverse opal carbons with mesopores (mIOC), and bare inverse opal carbons (IOC) and investigated the electrochemical behavior of these samples as anode materials. Surface modification by aminophenyl groups was confirmed by XPS measurements. TEM images showed mesopores, and the specific area of mIOC was compared with that of IOC using BET analysis. A half-cell test was performed to compare a-IOC with IOC and mIOC with IOC. In the case of the a-IOC structure, the cell test revealed no improvement in the reversible specific capacity or the cycle performance. The mIOC cell showed a reversible specific capacity of 432 mAh/g, and the capacity was maintained at 88%-approximately 380 mAh/g-over 20 cycles.