Comparison of the effectiveness of inhaled short-acting ?2 agonist and anti-cholinergic with and without inhaled corticosteroid in improving the pulmonary function in COPD patients

Abstract

[1] Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is defined as a disease characterized by progressive airflow limitation, that is, not fully reversible. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of inhaled short acting ?2 agonist and anti-cholinergic with and without inhaled corticosteroid in improving the pulmonary function in COPD patients. In this 6 month study, a total of 80 COPD patients were enrolled in which 40 were administering Duolin MDI and the rest were taking Duolin MDI and Budecort MDI. Patient’s data collection form was used for recording the demographic details of the patients. Before and after 6 months of study period, the patients were evaluated for improvement in symptoms by using SGRQ and by assessing the 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT); the improvement in the pulmonary function was evaluated by observing the changes in the FEV1 values in Pulmonary Function Test (PFT). Medication adherence and Quality of Life were analyzed by distribution of questionnaires namely, MMAS-8 and EQ-5D Descriptive System, JSQ respectively. The majority of the patients belong to the 71-75 categories. Out of total patients, each age category has a high medication adherence level. Influences of COPD are more in patients who have a history of cigarette smoking for past several years. Males (86%) are dominated over the female population (14%). There is improvement in the pulmonary function of COPD patients who were taking inhaled corticosteroid with SAMA and SABA than those taking SAMA and SABA alone based on their FEV1 % predicted. The SGRQ score reduction and 6-MWT results evidences shown that inhaled corticosteroid is having greater effect on reducing the symptoms of COPD. Those administering ICS+SAMA+SABA have shown significant improvement in the quality of life and improvement in sleep problems. The results concluded that taking inhaled corticosteroid with inhaled short acting bronchodilators in COPD patients who are initially diagnosed with COPD may reduce fall in FEV1 level, prevent exacerbation of COPD, reduce the number of exacerbations and hospital stay in COPD patients, thus provide better patient care.