These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Survival with tiotropium compared to long-acting Beta-2-agonists in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
    Author: Gershon AS, Wang L, To T, Luo J, Upshur RE.
    Journal: COPD; 2008 Aug; 5(4):229-34. PubMed ID: 18671148.
    Abstract:
    Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth-leading cause of chronic morbidity and mortality in North America and its burden continues to increase. Tiotropium has been shown to reduce exacerbations, hospitalizations, symptoms, and improve health-related quality of life in patients with COPD. Its effect on mortality and its effects relative to long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs), however, remain unknown. To examine the association between tiotropium use compared to LABA use on all-cause mortality in older patients with COPD, a longitudinal, population-based cohort study was conducted in Ontario, Canada. Subjects were individuals 65 years and older discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of COPD between January 1, 2003 and March 31, 2006. The hazard of receiving a prescription for tiotropium compared to a long-acting beta-agonist on all-cause mortality at 180 days post-hospital discharge, controlling for a number of potential confounders, was eliminated. Data from 7218 eligible patients were analyzed. Of these, 1046 (14.5%) died in the follow-up period. Patients who received tiotropium were 20% less likely to die than those receiving a long-acting beta-agonist (hazard ratio 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.70 to 0.93). In conclusion, in older patients recently discharged from hospital for COPD, receiving tiotropium was found to be associated with reduced mortality at 6 months compared to receiving a long-acting beta-agonist. This result suggests that tiotropium might also be associated with decreased mortality compared to no treatment at all. Randomized placebo-control trials are needed to confirm these findings.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]