Treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed COPD in the USA.

BACKGROUND: Prompt and effective management with maintenance therapy (single or dual bronchodilator therapy) is recommended after the initial diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to maintain lung function and prevent exacerbations. Contrary to guideline-based recommendations, most patients are not prescribed maintenance treatment at initial diagnosis. The current study assessed the pharmacologic treatment patterns and outcomes of newly diagnosed patients with COPD in the USA. METHODS: This retrospective, noninterventional study used de-identified data from the Inovalon Insights' database (Commercial, Medicaid Managed Care, and Medicare Advantage-insured individuals) between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2021. The "patient journey" from initial diagnosis was followed over a 4-year period. The primary outcome measure was the number of moderate or severe exacerbations. Secondary outcome measures included the cumulative incidence of exacerbations, mean cumulative count of moderate and severe exacerbations, rates of moderate and severe exacerbations in patients who remained untreated after diagnosis in 12-month time periods for 4 years, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and pharmacologic treatment patterns. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 238,158 newly diagnosed patients with COPD (female [52.9%]; mean age 63.8 years). The majority of patients with COPD had Medicaid as their primary insurance (46.2%). Overall, during the 4-year follow-up period, 32.9% of the patients had at least one moderate or severe exacerbation, and 25.8% and 13.8% experienced moderate and severe exacerbations, respectively. At diagnosis, 86.2% of the patients were untreated and most remained untreated by the end of the follow-up (63.8%). Most patients (62.0%) received long-acting beta-agonist (LABA)/inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) as their initial treatment at diagnosis, and LABA/ICS continued to be the most common initial treatment during the 4-year period (64.0% at year 1; 58.0% at year 4). CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with COPD were not treated at initial diagnosis and remained untreated during follow-up. Our data highlight a lack of adherence to recommendations for clinical practice.

Delphi Consensus on Clinical Applications of GOLD 2023 Recommendations in COPD Management: How Aligned are Recommendations with Clinical Practice?

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this Delphi study was to understand and assess the level of consensus among respiratory experts on the clinical application of GOLD 2023 recommendations in management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: The study comprised two online surveys and a participant meeting with 34 respiratory experts from 16 countries. Responses of 73 questions were recorded using a Likert scale ranging from 0 (disagreement) to 9 (agreement). The consensus threshold was 75%. RESULTS: Survey 1 and survey 2 had 34 and 32 participants, respectively; and 25 attended the participant meeting. Consensus was reached on survey 1: 28/42; survey 2: 18/30 close-ended questions. A consensus was reached on the clinical relevance of most updates in definitions and diagnosis of COPD. Mixed results for the treatment recommendations by GOLD were noted: 74% agreed with the recommendation to initiate treatment with dual bronchodilators for group E patients; 63% agreed for including inhaled corticosteroids (ICS)/long-acting ß2 agonist(LABA)/ Long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists (LAMA) as a treatment option for GOLD B patients. Also, consensus lacked on removing ICS + LABA as an initial therapeutic option, in countries with challenges in access to other treatment option;. 88% agreed that they use GOLD recommendations in their daily clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: This Delphi study demonstrated a high level of consensus regarding key concepts of GOLD 2023 report, with most participants favoring recent updates in definitions, diagnosis, management, and prevention of COPD. More evidence on the etiotype based management and treatment options for group B and E are required which could further strengthen clinical application of the GOLD report.

The goal of this Delphi study was to understand and assess the level of alignment among the respiratory experts on the application of key changes and recommendations proposed by the GOLD 2023 report in their routine clinical practice for the management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). There were two online surveys in this study, and experts from 16 countries (primarily focused on developing countries) were invited to participate. Using the Delphi method, expert representatives shared their insights with the aim of optimizing patient care. The alignment was assessed in six well-defined themes: 1) Overall view on GOLD/other recommendations; 2) Assessing patients with COPD; 3) Initial pharmacological treatment in patients with COPD; 4) Vaccination for patients with COPD; 5) Follow-up pharmacological treatment in patients with COPD; and 6) Survival evidence in patients with COPD. Participants expressed a high level of agreement regarding key concepts of the GOLD 2023 report, with most of them agreeing with recent updates in definitions, diagnosis, management, and prevention of COPD. The results also highlighted the need to publish GOLD reports in multiple languages and in a shorter, pocket-sized format to increase awareness and adaptation among healthcare providers.

Dynamic and prognostic proteomic associations with FEV1 decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Rationale: Identification and validation of circulating biomarkers for lung function decline in COPD remains an unmet need. Objective: Identify prognostic and dynamic plasma protein biomarkers of COPD progression. Methods: We measured plasma proteins using SomaScan from two COPD-enriched cohorts, the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcomes Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS) and Genetic Epidemiology of COPD (COPDGene), and one population-based cohort, Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Lung. Using SPIROMICS as a discovery cohort, linear mixed models identified baseline proteins that predicted future change in FEV1 (prognostic model) and proteins whose expression changed with change in lung function (dynamic model). Findings were replicated in COPDGene and MESA-Lung. Using the COPD-enriched cohorts, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) identified proteins shared between COPDGene and SPIROMICS. Metascape identified significant associated pathways. Measurements and Main Results: The prognostic model found 7 significant proteins in common (p < 0.05) among all 3 cohorts. After applying false discovery rate (adjusted p < 0.2), leptin remained significant in all three cohorts and growth hormone receptor remained significant in the two COPD cohorts. Elevated baseline levels of leptin and growth hormone receptor were associated with slower rate of decline in FEV1. Twelve proteins were nominally but not FDR significant in the dynamic model and all were distinct from the prognostic model. Metascape identified several immune related pathways unique to prognostic and dynamic proteins. Conclusion: We identified leptin as the most reproducible COPD progression biomarker. The difference between prognostic and dynamic proteins suggests disease activity signatures may be different from prognosis signatures.

Cambiando el curso de la EPOC / Changing the course of COPD

Los pacientes que padecen de EPOC son claramente una población en riesgo, ya que la función pulmonar finalmente se reducirá con una tasa acelerada a medida que la enfermedad progrese. El manejo de la EPOC necesita centrarse en modificar el curso de la enfermedad, haciendo foco en cuatro áreas principales: 1) diagnóstico temprano de la enfermedad, 2) reducción del riego mediante el cese del consumo de tabaco, 3) tratamiento farmacológico y de rehabilitación pulmonar con el objeto de mejorar a corto y largo plazo, y 4) disminuir las complicaciones reduciendo las exacerbaciones. La intervención con el tratamiento farmacológico de mantenimiento en forma regular desde estadios leves de la EPOC, puede ser beneficioso para los pacientes tal como lo sugieren los ensayos en pacientes vírgenes de tratamiento (por ejemplo, tratados comoleves y utilizando beta2 agonistas a demanda). Hoy, solamente el cese del hábito tabáquico es la intervención que ha demostrado cambiar el curso clínico de la enfermedad preservando la función pulmonar. Está pendiente aún de demostrarse, si el tratamiento farmacológico puede cambiar el curso a largo plazo de la enfermedad. Los resultados de ensayos clínicos aún en curso, podrán proveer evidencia al respecto.

COPD patients are a risk group because their lung function will be reduced quickly as the disease progresses. Management of COPD needs to be focused on modifying the development of the diseases through: 1) making an earlier diagnose, 2) quitting thetobacco smoking habit, 3) making a pharmacologic and non pharmacologic plan focused on a rapid improvement, and 4) preventing exacerbations and improving the patient lung function. A sustained drug treatment intervention from the initial staging of the disease, may be beneficial, moreover in naive patients, but until now only the smoking cessation is the intervention that has proved to change the clinical course of the disease, preserving lung function. It is yet to be demonstrated whether drug treatment may change the long-term progress of the disease. The results of on going clinical trials will provide evidence on this question.

Análisis de severidad y criterios de hospitalización en pacientes con neumonía adquirida en la comunidad / Severity of illness analysis and hospitalization criteria in patients with community-acquired pneumonia

La neumonía adquirida en la comunidad es una enfermedad que causa alta morbilidad, mortalidad y costos. Este artículo tiene como finalidad discutir los diferentes métodos de evaluación de severidad de la enfermedad, para determinar el mejor sitio para el tratamiento de los pacientes. Utilizamos un caso clínico ficticio a manera de ejercicio para aplicar las diferentes herramientas: PSI, CURB y CURB-65. Sugerimos el uso tanto del CURB como de CURB-65, por su fácil aplicación y buena efectividad en la práctica clínica. La presencia de dos o más de los criterios clínicos: (Confusión, BUN>19,6 mg/dL 7mmol/L), frecuencia respiratoria >=30/min, e hipotensión arterial (presión arterial sistólica o diastólica <90/60 mmHgl) sugieren que el paciente debe ser manejado en el hospital. Estos métodos no tienen la función de reemplazar sino de reforzar objetivamente el criterio clínico en la toma de decisión del lugar apropiado de tratamiento del paciente con neumonía adquirida en la comunidad...