Extract
The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2011 recommendations stratified patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) into four severity groups (A–D) [1]. However, the clinical trials on which these recommendations were based did not use this patient classification. Within group D, patients may be stratified into subgroups according to the criteria that determine their inclusion: either forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), frequency of exacerbations or both [2–4]. These D-subgroups display significantly different treatment outcomes [2]. The current report determined whether budesonide/formoterol prevented exacerbations more effectively than formoterol alone in symptomatic patients with COPD at high and low risk of exacerbations according to GOLD 2011 severity groups D and B [1], respectively, and in the group D subgroups.
Abstract
Budesonide/formoterol reduced exacerbation risk versus formoterol alone in patients with GOLD 2011 group D COPD http://ow.ly/LRtis
Acknowledgements
Medical writing assistance was provided by Shaun Foley and Clair Clowes of inScience Communications, Springer Healthcare (Chester, UK) and funded by AstraZeneca.
Footnotes
Support statement: This analysis was funded by AstraZeneca.
Conflict of interest: Disclosures can be found alongside the online version of this article at erj.ersjournals.com
- Received December 19, 2014.
- Accepted March 25, 2015.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015