Clinical characteristics and factors associated with triple therapy use in newly diagnosed patients with COPD

NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2021 Mar 22;31(1):16. doi: 10.1038/s41533-021-00227-x.

Abstract

There is limited information about the initiation of triple therapy (TT) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in primary care. This was an observational, population-based study in patients identified from a primary care electronic medical records database in Catalonia from 2011 to 2015 aimed to identify the use of TT in patients with newly diagnosed COPD. A total of 69,668 newly diagnosed patients were identified of whom 11,524 (16.5%) initiated TT, of whom 8626 initiated TT at or immediately after COPD diagnosis. Among them, 72.3% were GOLD A/B, 14.6% were frequent exacerbators, and 7.1% had asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). Variables associated with TT initiation were: male sex, older age, previous exacerbations, ACO, a previous treatment regimen containing an inhaled corticosteroid, previous pneumonia, and history of lung cancer. A significant number of COPD patients in Primary Care initiated TT shortly after or even before an established COPD diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Inhalation
  • Adrenal Cortex Hormones / therapeutic use
  • Adrenergic beta-2 Receptor Agonists* / therapeutic use
  • Aged
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / diagnosis
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / drug therapy
  • Retrospective Studies

Substances

  • Adrenal Cortex Hormones
  • Adrenergic beta-2 Receptor Agonists