Blood Eosinophil Counts, Withdrawal of Inhaled Corticosteroids and Risk of COPD Exacerbations and Mortality in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD).

Blood Eosinophil Counts, Withdrawal of Inhaled Corticosteroids and Risk of COPD Exacerbations and Mortality in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). COPD. 2019 May 23;:1-8 Authors: Oshagbemi OA, Franssen FME, van Kraaij S, Braeken DCW, Wouters EFM, Maitland-van der Zee AH, Driessen JHM, de Vries F Abstract Although recently introduced in the pharmacological treatment algorithm of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there is a need for more data supporting the use of blood eosinophil counts as a biomarker to guide inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of moderate and/or severe exacerbations and all-cause mortality in a large primary care population after withdrawal of ICS compared to continued users stratified by elevated blood eosinophil counts. In this population based cohort study, we used data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) in the United Kingdom. We included subjects' aged 40 years or more who had a diagnosis of COPD. We excluded subjects with a history of asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, cardiac arrhythmia and bronchiectasis, COPD exacerbations occurring within 6 weeks prior to index date, or with a myocardial infarction within 3 months prior to index date. Continuous users were subjects who received their most recent ICS prescription within 3 months before the start of an interval. ICS withdrawals were those who discontinued ICS for more than ...
Source: COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: COPD Source Type: research