Aim: To compare efficacy of atrovent alone and in combination with erespal in patients with chronic bronchitis (CB) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Material and methods: Of 80 participants of the trial (51 male and 29 female--63.75 and 36.25%, respectively) who had CB or COPD, 39 patients (28 with CB and 11 with COPD) received 6-month combined treatment with erespal (160 mg/day) and atrovent (160 mcg/day) and 41 patients (32 with CB and 9 with COPD) received atrovent monotherapy in the same dosage.
Results: Combined therapy produced positive changes in dyspnea, sputum characteristics and its discharge, cough, monotherapy improved sputum discharge and relieved cough; pulmonary ventilation improved in both groups especially in those on monotherapy. CB patients showed low cytosis, percentage and absolute count of neutrophils, absolute count of lymphocytes and eosinophils in induced sputum. In CB patients percentage of lymphocytes reduced while count of macrophages went up. Combined treatment including erespal also promoted a significant fall of serum and sputum TNFalpha and IL-8 reduction in the sputum.
Conclusion: Erespal+atrovent treatment proved more effective than atrovent alone. It is recommended for both CB and COPD patients without marked disorders of external respiration function.