Prevention of Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Tiotropium
Authors: Chester B. Good, Lisa Longo
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2006)

Letters17 January 2006Prevention of Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with TiotropiumChester B. Good, MD, MPH and Lisa Longo, PharmDChester B. Good, MD, MPHFrom Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA 15240.Search for more papers by this author and Lisa Longo, PharmDFrom Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA 15240.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-144-2-200601170-00021 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:The decision of Niewoehner and colleagues (1) to compare tiotropium with placebo instead of with ipratropium for prevention of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is problematic for several reasons. The authors state they designed the study “to reflect community practice.” However, community practice includes the use of anticholinergic bronchodilators to manage COPD, evidenced by the fact that 80% of study participants received this therapy at baseline. Therefore, the comparison group (placebo) was actually receiving less care than is standard in accepted community practice. It is difficult to determine the significance of the study findings when ...References1. Niewoehner DE, Rice K, Cote C, Paulson D, Cooper JA, Korducki L, et al. Prevention of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with tiotropium, a once-daily inhaled anticholinergic bronchodilator: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2005;143:317-26. [PMID: 16144890] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Sin DD, McAlister FA, Man SF, Anthonisen NR. Contemporary management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: scientific review. JAMA. 2003;290:2301-12. [PMID: 14600189] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Chester B. Good, MD, MPH; Lisa Longo, PharmDAffiliations: From Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA 15240.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPrevention of Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Tiotropium, a Once-Daily Inhaled Anticholinergic Bronchodilator Dennis E. Niewoehner , Kathryn Rice , Claudia Cote , Daniel Paulson , J. Allen D. Cooper Jr. , Larry Korducki , Cara Cassino , and Steven Kesten Prevention of Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Tiotropium Alec B. O'Connor Prevention of Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Tiotropium Dennis E. Niewoehner , Kathryn Rice , and Stephen Kesten Metrics Cited byTiotropium as part of inhaled polytherapy: Adherence and associated health-care utilization 17 January 2006Volume 144, Issue 2Page: 147KeywordsBronchodilatorsChronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseClinical trialsConflicts of interestHealth care ePublished: 17 January 2006 Issue Published: 17 January 2006 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2006 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...