Treatment of early Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in patients with cystic fibrosis: the ELITE trial.

RATIONALE: Antibiotic therapy for early Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is effective, but the optimal therapeutic regimen and duration for early treatment remains unclear. The EarLy Inhaled Tobramycin for Eradication (ELITE) study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of two regimens (28 and 56 days) of tobramycin inhalation solution (TIS) 300 mg/5 ml twice daily for the treatment of early onset P aeruginosa infection in patients with CF. METHODS: In this open-label randomised multicentre study, patients with CF (aged > or = 6 months) with early P aeruginosa infection were treated for 28 days with TIS twice daily administered by the PARI LC PLUS (PARI GmbH, Starnberg, Germany) jet nebuliser. After 28 days, patients were randomised 1:1 to either stop TIS (n=45) or to receive a further 28 days of TIS (n=43). The primary endpoint was the median time to recurrence of P aeruginosa (any strain). Secondary endpoints included the proportion of patients free of P aeruginosa infection 1 month after cessation of therapy and safety assessments. RESULTS: The median time to recurrence of P aeruginosa (any strain) was similar between the two groups. In total, 93% and 92% of the patients were free of P aeruginosa infection 1 month after the end of treatment and 66% and 69% remained free at the final visit in the 28-day and 56-day groups, respectively. TIS was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with TIS for 28 days is an effective and well tolerated therapy for early P aeruginosa infection in patients with CF. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT00391976.

Efficacy and safety of once-daily glycopyrronium in predominantly Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the GLOW7 study.

BACKGROUND: Glycopyrronium is a once-daily (od) long-acting muscarinic antagonist for the maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The GLOW7 study evaluated the efficacy and safety of od glycopyrronium 50 µg in predominantly Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe COPD. METHODS: In this 26-week, multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study, men and women ≥40 years with moderate-to-severe COPD were randomized to glycopyrronium 50 µg od or placebo (2:1). The primary objective was to confirm the significant improvement of trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) following 12 weeks of treatment with glycopyrronium compared with placebo. Secondary objectives included the effect of glycopyrronium on health status (St George's Respiratory Questionnaire), breathlessness (Transition Dyspnea Index), other lung function parameters, rescue medication use, and COPD exacerbations. Safety and tolerability were also evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 460 patients randomized, 459 were included in the full analysis set (glycopyrronium, n=306; placebo, n=154; mean age 64.7 years; mean post-bronchodilator FEV1: 50.8% predicted); 425 (92.4%) completed the study. At Week 12, glycopyrronium signifcantly improved trough FEV1 with a least square means treatment difference of 141 mL (95% confidence interval 111 mL, 171 mL; P<0.001) compared with placebo. The mean treatment effect of glycopyrronium was greater than the minimum clinically important difference versus placebo in both St George's Respiratory Questionnaire total score (-4.92; P<0.001) and Transition Dyspnea Index focal score (1.0; P<0.001) at week 26. Glycopyrronium reduced the risk of exacerbations in terms of time to first moderate or severe exacerbation by 28% (P=0.153) and rate of moderate or severe COPD exacerbation by 29% (P=0.119) compared with placebo. Incidence of death was 1.3% with glycopyrronium and 0% in placebo during the treatment period. Overall incidence of adverse events (glycopyrronium 43.6%; placebo 47.4%) and serious adverse events (glycopyrronium 5.6%; placebo 9.1%) were similar. CONCLUSION: In predominantly Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe COPD, od glycopyrronium 50 µg significantly improved lung function, dyspnea, and health status compared with placebo. The safety and tolerability profile of glycopyrronium was comparable to placebo.

Safety and efficacy of dual bronchodilation with QVA149 in COPD patients: the ENLIGHTEN study.

BACKGROUND: QVA149 is an inhaled, once-daily fixed-dose dual bronchodilator combination of the long-acting ß2-agonist indacaterol and long-acting muscarinic antagonist glycopyrronium (NVA237) for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We investigated the safety and efficacy of QVA149 over 52 weeks. METHODS: This 52-week, multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study randomized (2:1) patients with moderate-to-severe COPD to once-daily QVA149 (110 µg indacaterol/50 µg glycopyrronium) or placebo delivered via the Breezhaler device. Primary endpoint was safety and tolerability for treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs). Secondary endpoints included safety based on vital signs, electrocardiograms (ECGs), laboratory evaluations, and pre-dose forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). RESULTS: Of 339 patients randomized, QVA149 [n = 226], placebo [n = 113]; 76.9% male, mean age: 62.6 years, post-bronchodilator FEV1: 57.4% predicted, 83.5% completed study. A smaller percentage of patients discontinued in the QVA149 group (14.2%) compared with placebo (21.2%). Overall incidence of AEs was similar in the QVA149 (57.8%) and placebo (56.6%) groups, with most AEs being mild to moderate in severity. The numerical differences in some AEs observed could be at least in part explained by differences in baseline patient characteristics. No clinically relevant differences were observed between treatment groups for vital signs or ECG parameters. The five deaths reported were unrelated to study medication (QVA149, n = 4 [1.8%]; placebo, n = 1 [0.9%]). QVA149 demonstrated rapid and clinically meaningful bronchodilation sustained over 52 weeks versus placebo. CONCLUSION: QVA149 demonstrated a good safety and tolerability profile, providing rapid and sustained bronchodilation over 52 weeks in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01120717.

Lung deposition of inhaled tobramycin with eFlow rapid/LC Plus jet nebuliser in healthy and cystic fibrosis subjects.

BACKGROUND: Reducing nebulisation times for tobramycin solution for inhalation in cystic fibrosis (CF) may improve compliance. METHODS: In this single-dose, open-label, two-way crossover study, 13 subjects (7 CF, 6 healthy) were randomised to receive tobramycin via eFlow rapid or LC Plus jet nebuliser. Drug deposition in the lung using gamma scintigraphic imaging, nebulisation times, pharmacokinetics, and safety were evaluated. RESULTS: In CF patients, whole-lung deposition was 40% less with the eFlow rapid compared with LC Plus nebulisers was (8.9±0.8%, and 15.1±6.0%, p>0.05). Nebulisation time was shorter with eFlow rapid compared to LC Plus (7.0min versus 20.0min, p<0.05). Lung deposition in healthy subjects was comparable between both devices. CONCLUSIONS: eFlow rapid reduces the nebulisation time of tobramycin and can potentially improved compliance in patients with CF.

Pharmacokinetics and safety of tobramycin administered by the PARI eFlow rapid nebulizer in cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Nebulization times have been identified as an issue in patient compliance with tobramycin solution for inhalation (TSI) therapy in cystic fibrosis (CF). METHODS: In this randomized, open-label, multicentre, two-period, crossover study, patients (n=25) with CF and chronic pulmonary pseudomonal infection received TSI for 15 days via eFlow rapid or LC PLUS nebulizer. Nebulization times and sputum/serum tobramycin concentrations were determined, and safety evaluated. RESULTS: Nebulization times were significantly shorter for eFlow rapid versus LC PLUS on Day 1 (least squares mean estimate of the difference -10.5 min, 95% confidence intervals [CI] -12.6, -8.3, p<0.0001) and Day 15 (difference -7.7 min, 95% CI -9.0, -6.5, p<0.0001). Broadly comparable sputum/systemic exposure to tobramycin was observed and the incidence of adverse events was similar for both nebulizers. CONCLUSION: Use of the eFlow rapid nebulizer reduced TSI nebulization time. The systemic exposure to tobramycin appeared to be broadly similar in this exploratory study.