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Triple therapy for COPD : Understanding evidence is complicated Therapeutics Initiative (University of British Columbia)
Description
Background: Recent Canadian and international guidelines for management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) recommend single inhaler triple therapy (long-acting muscarinic antagonist/longacting beta agonist/inhaled corticosteroid) as first-line treatment or as escalation from dual therapy for “high risk” patients who experienced at least 1 severe or 2 moderate exacerbations during the previous year. While they differ as to other eligibility criteria for triple therapy, these new recommendations could increase inappropriate prescriptions. In British Columbia, singleinhaler triple therapy is increasing rapidly. Aims: This Therapeutics Letter critically appraises available evidence about triple therapy for “high risk” COPD patients. Findings: No randomized controlled trial (RCT) has evaluated first-line triple therapy in people newly diagnosed with COPD. Three RCTs enrolled “high risk” patients (N=20,396) at a mean of 8 years after COPD diagnosis. Most were already using ICS and many had a history of asthma. Results cannot be extrapolated to treatment-naïve patients treated initially with triple therapy. We found unconvincing the RCT evidence that triple therapy reduces exacerbations. Like the US FDA’s Advisory Committee, we could not confirm that triple therapy reduces mortality. Furthermore, retrospective real-world data indicate that triple therapy achieves no significant reduction in exacerbations, but increases pneumonia and total mortality. Conclusions: Current evidence does not support first-line triple therapy in treatment-naïve COPD patients, nor routinely adding ICS for people already using a LAMA/LABA inhaler. Clinicians should prioritize smoking cessation, immunization, and inhaler technique over pharmacological intensification, and ensure evidence-informed shared decision-making.
Item Metadata
Title |
Triple therapy for COPD : Understanding evidence is complicated
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Alternate Title |
Therapeutics Letter 153
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Creator | |
Date Issued |
2025-03
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Description |
Background: Recent Canadian and international
guidelines for management of chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) recommend single inhaler
triple therapy (long-acting muscarinic antagonist/longacting beta agonist/inhaled corticosteroid) as first-line
treatment or as escalation from dual therapy for “high
risk” patients who experienced at least 1 severe or
2 moderate exacerbations during the previous year.
While they differ as to other eligibility criteria for triple
therapy, these new recommendations could increase
inappropriate prescriptions. In British Columbia, singleinhaler triple therapy is increasing rapidly.
Aims: This Therapeutics Letter critically appraises
available evidence about triple therapy for “high risk”
COPD patients.
Findings: No randomized controlled trial (RCT) has
evaluated first-line triple therapy in people newly diagnosed with COPD. Three RCTs enrolled “high risk”
patients (N=20,396) at a mean of 8 years after COPD
diagnosis. Most were already using ICS and many had
a history of asthma. Results cannot be extrapolated to
treatment-naïve patients treated initially with triple therapy. We found unconvincing the RCT evidence that triple
therapy reduces exacerbations. Like the US FDA’s Advisory Committee, we could not confirm that triple therapy
reduces mortality. Furthermore, retrospective real-world
data indicate that triple therapy achieves no significant
reduction in exacerbations, but increases pneumonia
and total mortality.
Conclusions: Current evidence does not support
first-line triple therapy in treatment-naïve COPD patients,
nor routinely adding ICS for people already using a
LAMA/LABA inhaler. Clinicians should prioritize
smoking cessation, immunization, and inhaler technique
over pharmacological intensification, and ensure
evidence-informed shared decision-making.
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Subject | |
Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Notes |
The UBC TI is funded by the BC Ministry of Health to provide evidence-based information about drug therapy. We neither formulate nor adjudicate provincial drug policies.
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Date Available |
2025-05-07
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0448775
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
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Scholarly Level |
Faculty; Researcher
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Rights URI | |
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International