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GOLD standard for COPD released
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in Bethesda, MD, and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva recently released new international guidelines for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The guidelines were a cooperative effort called the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), commonly referred to as the GOLD Guidelines. Among other recommendations, the guidelines emphasize the use of bronchodilators for symptom management in COPD.
Those guidelines state:
- Inhaled bronchodilator maintenance therapy has been shown to improve health status significantly.
- Long-acting bronchodilators are more convenient than alterative treatments.
"The guidelines represent the latest thinking about COPD management and contain important information for both physicians and patients," notes Stephen Rennard, MD, professor of medi-cine at the University of Nebraska Medical Centerin Omaha and a member of the expert panel that helped developed the guidelines. "There is clearly a need for better education about this disease and the best ways to manage it. My hope is that the guidelines will help raise awareness and improve the quality of care, and the quality of life, for people living with COPD," he says.
More information on the guidelines is available on www.goldcopd.com.
Pfizer partners to market COPD treatment
Boehringer Ingelheim in Ingelheim, Germany and Pfizer in New York City recently announced they have entered into a long-term agreement to jointly market Spiriva (tiotropium), a novel, once-a-day inhaled treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Spiriva would be the first once daily inhaled bronchodilator treatment for COPD. Data from clinical trials in more than 3,000 patients have shown that Spiriva provides sustained bronchodilation with significant symptomatic improvement in shortness of breath. In addition, clinical trial data indicate the Spiriva reduced exacerbations of COPD resulting in fewer hospitalizations.
Beta blocker reduces risk of second heart attack
Long-term treatment with the beta-blocking agent carvedilol following a heart attack reduces the risk of patients having a second heart attack by 41% and their risk of dying by 23%, according to Scottish researchers.
The study enrolled more than 1,900 patients and was conducted in more than 160 sites in 17 countries. Patients were randomized to receive either long-term treatment with carvedilol or placebo following a proven acute myocardial infraction and a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than or equal to 40%. All patients in the trial were receiving ACE inhibitors. Patients were followed for a mean of 15 months.
Treatment with carvedilol was shown to reduce the risk of death for any reason from 15% to 12%. This represents a 23% relative reduction in mortality and was associated with a 41% reduction in risk of recurrent nonfatal heart attack, and a 29% reduction in the risk of all cause mortality or nonfatal heart attack.
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