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![Noteworthy Comment: This paper is one of the very first to not only clearly confirm the finding that inhaled steroids in COPD increase the risk of pneumonia but it also describes the some possible sub groups of patients who are at increased risk. This should aid the clinician in making decisions as to when and if to start inhaled steroids. Moreover we need to not only phenotype our patients for their possible responsiveness but also for their risk of significant harm due in part to medication, in this instance pneumonia driven by inhaled steroids.](assets/img/article_icons/noteworthy.png)
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Risk of pneumonia with inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2 agonist therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a cluster analysis
Authors DiSantostefano R, Li H, Hinds D, Galkin D , Rubin D
Received 11 January 2014
Accepted for publication 10 March 2014
Published 7 May 2014 Volume 2014:9(1) Pages 457—468
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/COPD.S60498
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 3
Rachael L DiSantostefano,1 Hao Li,1 David Hinds,1 Dmitry V Galkin,2 David B Rubin2
1Worldwide Epidemiology, 2Respiratory Clinical Development, GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA
Background: Pneumonia poses a significant risk in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease but data are limited on the disease phenotypes most susceptible to pneumonia.
Methods: Cluster analysis using a data-driven recursive partitioning algorithm was employed using baseline data from two pooled one-year randomized exacerbation trials (n=3,255) of fluticasone furoate/vilanterol or vilanterol alone to identify distinct patient groups at greatest risk of pneumonia or serious (hospitalization or death) pneumonia.
Results: Five clusters were identified. Patients at greater risk of first pneumonia had more severe obstruction (forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity <46%) and either a body mass index <19 kg/m2 (hazard ratio 7.8, 95% confidence interval 4.7–13.0; n=144) or a pneumonia history and greater comorbidities (hazard ratio 4.8, 95% confidence interval 3.0–7.7; n=374) relative to the cluster with the lowest pneumonia risk (reference; n=1310). Multiple comorbidities and use of psychoanaleptics also contributed to an increased risk of pneumonia in more obstructed patients. Independent of cluster, use of inhaled corticosteroids was associated with pneumonia (hazard ratio 1.89, 95% confidence interval 1.25–2.84) and serious pneumonia (hazard ratio 2.92, 95% confidence interval 1.40–6.01).
Conclusion: Cluster analysis can identify patient populations at risk for serious safety outcomes and inform risk management strategies to optimize patient management. The greatest risk for pneumonia was in subjects with multiple pneumonia risk factors.
Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting β2-agonists, pneumonia, cluster analysis
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