Marketresearch.biz reports that the Respiratory inhaler market is estimated to be valued at US$ 27,779.9 million in 2017, and is expected to register a CAGR of 4.2%.

Overview of the Respiratory Inhaler Market

The Respiratory Inhaler Market encompasses a diverse range of medical devices used for the delivery of medication directly to the lungs, providing relief and management for various respiratory conditions, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis. Inhalers are essential tools in respiratory therapy, offering convenient and effective administration of bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and other respiratory medications. With the increasing prevalence of respiratory diseases worldwide and advancements in inhaler technology, the respiratory inhaler market is witnessing significant growth and innovation.

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Driving Factors of the Respiratory Inhaler Market

  • Rising Prevalence of Respiratory Diseases: The increasing incidence of respiratory conditions, such as asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis, due to factors such as air pollution, smoking, and aging population, drives the demand for respiratory inhalers for symptom relief and disease management.
  • Technological Advancements in Inhaler Design: Ongoing advancements in inhaler technology, including the development of metered-dose inhalers (MDIs), dry powder inhalers (DPIs), and soft mist inhalers (SMIs), improve drug delivery efficiency, dose accuracy, and patient convenience, driving adoption and market growth.
  • Focus on Patient-Centric Care: There is a growing emphasis on personalized and patient-centric approaches to respiratory care, with inhaler devices designed to meet the specific needs and preferences of patients, such as ease of use, portability, and dose counters, enhancing patient adherence and treatment outcomes.
  • Expanding Geriatric Population: The aging population is more susceptible to respiratory diseases and comorbidities, driving demand for respiratory inhalers in geriatric care settings for the management of chronic respiratory conditions and exacerbations.
  • Increasing Healthcare Expenditure: Rising healthcare expenditure, coupled with favorable reimbursement policies for respiratory medications and devices, supports market growth by facilitating access to inhaler therapies and driving adoption rates among patients and healthcare providers.
  • Growing Awareness and Education Initiatives: Awareness campaigns, patient education programs, and advocacy efforts focused on respiratory health and disease management raise awareness about the importance of early diagnosis, adherence to treatment, and proper inhaler technique, driving demand for respiratory inhalers.

Restraining Factors of the Respiratory Inhaler Market

  • Regulatory Challenges and Compliance: Stringent regulatory requirements, including product approvals, labeling regulations, and manufacturing standards, pose challenges for market entry, product differentiation, and compliance with changing regulatory landscapes, impacting market dynamics and innovation.
  • Price Competition and Cost Constraints: Intense price competition among key players in the respiratory inhaler market, coupled with cost constraints within healthcare systems, may lead to pricing pressures, margin erosion, and limited investment in research and development, hindering market growth and innovation.
  • Technological Barriers and Accessibility: Technological complexities associated with some inhaler devices, coupled with limited access to healthcare infrastructure and resources in certain regions, may restrict patient access to advanced inhaler therapies and contribute to disparities in respiratory care outcomes.

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The Respiratory Inhaler Market report provides a comprehensive exploration of the sector, categorizing the market by type, application, and geographic distribution. This analysis includes data on market size, market share, growth trends, the current competitive landscape, and the key factors influencing growth and challenges. The research also highlights prevalent industry trends, market fluctuations, and the overall competitive environment.

This document offers a comprehensive view of the Global Respiratory Inhaler Market, equipping stakeholders with the necessary tools to identify areas for industry expansion. The report meticulously evaluates market segments, the competitive scenario, market breadth, growth patterns, and key drivers and constraints. It further segments the market by geographic distribution, shedding light on market leadership, growth trends, and industry shifts. Important market trends and transformations are also highlighted, providing a deeper understanding of the market’s complexities. This guide empowers stakeholders to leverage market opportunities and make informed decisions. Additionally, it provides clarity on the critical factors shaping the market’s trajectory and its competitive landscape.

Following Key Segments Are Covered in Our Report

Global respiratory inhaler segmentation by product type:

  • Dry Powder Inhalers
    • Single Unit Dose
    • Multi-Unit Dose
  • Metered Dose Inhalers
  • Nebulizers
    • Compressed
    • Mesh
    • Ultrasonic

Global respiratory inhaler segmentation by application:

  • Asthma
  • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  • Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
  • Cystic Fibrosis

Global respiratory inhaler segmentation by technology:

Key Players in Respiratory Inhaler Market

  • GlaxoSmithKline PLC
  • AstraZeneca PLC
  • Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH
  • Novartis AG
  • Mylan N.V.
  • Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
  • Cipla Limited
  • Merck & Co., Inc.
  • SANOFI S.A.
  • Philips Healthcare

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Regional Analysis for Respiratory Inhaler Market

  • North America: North America leads the respiratory inhaler market with high prevalence of respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD, driving demand for inhalation therapies and advanced drug delivery devices.
  • Europe: Europe follows suit, supported by favorable reimbursement policies and increasing adoption of inhalation medications.
  • Asia Pacific: The Asia Pacific region shows promising growth with rising pollution levels and increasing prevalence of respiratory disorders.
  • Middle East: Adoption is gradually increasing in the Middle East, driven by growing awareness of respiratory health issues and improving access to inhalation therapies.
  • Africa: Africa represents an emerging market with efforts to address respiratory diseases through expanding healthcare infrastructure and availability of inhalation medications.

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Growth Opportunities for Respiratory Inhaler Market

  • Increasing Respiratory Disorders: Rising prevalence of respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, and respiratory infections drives demand for respiratory inhaler devices and medications.
  • Technological Advancements: Innovation in inhaler device design, propellant technologies, and drug formulations improves drug delivery efficiency, patient adherence, and treatment outcomes.
  • Expanding Patient Demographics: Growing aging population, urbanization, and environmental pollution contribute to the increasing incidence of respiratory conditions, expanding the potential market for respiratory inhalers.
  • Emergence of Personalized Medicine: Advancements in pharmacogenomics and precision medicine approaches enable personalized treatment regimens tailored to patients’ genetic profiles and disease phenotypes.
  • Global Health Initiatives: Efforts to address respiratory health disparities, promote smoking cessation, and improve access to essential medicines drive market growth in developing regions.

Trending Factors for Respiratory Inhaler Market

  • Digital Health Integration: Integration of inhaler sensors, mobile applications, and electronic health records enables real-time monitoring of medication adherence, inhaler technique, and disease management, shaping market trends.
  • Biosimilar Competition: Introduction of biosimilar inhaler products and generic alternatives influences pricing dynamics, market competition, and product differentiation strategies.
  • Patient Education and Training: Emphasis on patient education, inhaler technique training, and self-management support programs improves medication adherence, therapeutic outcomes, and market acceptance of respiratory inhalers.
  • Environmental Sustainability: Growing focus on eco-friendly inhaler designs, recyclable materials, and reduced carbon footprint drives innovation in environmentally sustainable inhaler technologies and influences consumer preferences.
  • Regulatory Landscape: Regulatory approvals, labeling requirements, and post-market surveillance regulations for respiratory inhaler devices and medications impact market access, product development timelines, and commercialization strategies.

Our comprehensive Market research report endeavors to address a wide array of questions and concerns that stakeholders, investors, and industry participants might have. The following are the pivotal questions our report aims to answer:

Industry Overview:

  • What are the prevailing global trends in the Respiratory Inhaler Market?
  • How is the Respiratory Inhaler Market projected to evolve in the coming years? Will we see a surge or a decline in demand?

Product Analysis:

  • What is the anticipated demand distribution across various product categories within Respiratory Inhaler?
  • Which emerging products or services are expected to gain traction in the near future?

Financial Metrics:

  • What are the projections for the global Respiratory Inhaler industry in terms of capacity, production, and production value?
  • Can we anticipate the estimated costs, profits, Market share, supply and consumption dynamics?
  • How do import and export figures factor into the larger Respiratory Inhaler Market landscape?

Strategic Developments:

  • What strategic initiatives and movements are predicted to shape the industry in the medium to long run?

Pricing and Manufacturing:

  • Which factors majorly influence the end-price of Respiratory Inhaler products or services?
  • What are the primary raw materials and processes involved in manufacturing within the Respiratory Inhaler sector?

Market Opportunities:

  • What is the potential growth opportunity for the Respiratory Inhaler Market in the forthcoming years?
  • How might external factors, like the increasing use of Respiratory Inhaler in specific sectors, impact the Market’s overall growth trajectory?

Historical Analysis:

What was the estimated value of the Respiratory Inhaler Market in previous years, such as 2022?

Key Players Analysis:

  • Who are the leading companies and innovators within the Respiratory Inhaler Market?
  • Which companies are positioned at the forefront and why?

Innovative Trends:

  • Are there any fresh industry trends that businesses can leverage for additional revenue generation?

Market Entry and Strategy:

  • What are the recommended Market entry strategies for new entrants?
  • How should businesses navigate economic challenges and uncertainties in the Respiratory Inhaler Market?
  • What are the most effective Marketing channels to engage and penetrate the target audience?

Geographical Analysis:

  • How are different regions performing in the Respiratory Inhaler Market?
  • Which regions hold the most potential for future growth and why?

Consumer Behavior:

  • What are the current purchasing habits of consumers within the Respiratory Inhaler Market?
  • How might shifts in consumer behavior or preferences impact the industry?

Regulatory and Compliance Insights:

  • What are the existing and upcoming regulatory challenges in the Respiratory Inhaler industry?
  • How can businesses ensure consistent compliance?

Risk Analysis:

  • What potential risks and uncertainties should stakeholders be aware of in the Respiratory Inhaler Market?

External Impact Analysis:

  • How are external events, such as geopolitical tensions or global health crises (e.g., Russia-Ukraine War, COVID-19), influencing the Respiratory Inhaler industry’s dynamics?
  • This report is meticulously curated to provide a holistic understanding of the Respiratory Inhaler Market, ensuring that readers are well-equipped to make informed decisions.

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General characteristics

The study evaluated a total of 130 patients surviving COVID-19 pneumonia. The group with post COVID-19 pulmonary sequelae consisted of 17 males (63%) and 10 females (37%); with a mean (standard deviation) age of 65.3 (9.9) years. Secondly, the group without sequelae consisted of 46 males (44.7%) and 57 females (55.3%); with a mean (standard deviation) age of 53.4 (16.2) years. Table 1 shows the demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and symptoms at 3 months. Age, Charlson index, chest X-ray score and spirometric values are shown in Table 2.

Table 1 Qualitative characteristics of the included patients.
Table 2 Quantitative characteristics of included patients.

The predominant symptoms in both groups were dyspnea, asthenia and anosmia- ageusia. Spirometry was normal in both groups. We found significant differences between the two groups in age and in the Charlson index, with older age and more comorbidity in the group with pulmonary sequelae. In addition, we also found differences in hospital stay and in the extent of pneumonia, having stayed more days hospitalized and with a higher score in the group with sequelae.

Patients with pulmonary sequelae underwent additional studies with pulmonary diffusion and thoracic HRCT. Lung diffusion was normal with a mean DLCO of 79.50% (18.14) and range 55.0–108.0. Both spirometry and lung diffusion were redetermined at 12 months with the following results: mean FVC of 3690 ml (1013.0) and range 1430.0–5140.0, mean FVC% of 106.5% (14.3) and range 64.0–136.0, mean FEV1 of 2852.3 (766.9) and range 1190.0–4300.0, mean FEV1% of 105.6% (14.4%) and range 70.0–135.0, mean FEV1%FVC of 76.7% (7.8) and range 57.0–91.0 and mean DLCO% of 84.8 (14.4) and range 55.0–112.0. No significant differences were found in lung function tests at 3 and 12 months: FVC (p = 0.423), FVC% (p = 0.087), FEV1 (p = 0.233), FEV1% (p = 0.130), FEV1%FVC (p = 0.527), DLCO% (0.296).

The most frequently observed radiological findings in patients with alterations in CT were GGO, present in 88.9% of cases. However, the extension of the GGO was minimal or slight in most of the participants (55.5%). The peripheral distribution and in the middle and lower areas were the predominant locations. Reticulation (77.7%), fine parenchymal bands (63.0%), mosaic (40.7%) and distortion with traction bronchiectasis (29.6%) were the other alterations observed, but with minimal or slight extension. Severe radiological alterations were detected in 14.8% of the cases.

Analysis of evolution and differences in HRQoL between patients with Post COVID-19 pulmonary sequelae and patients without post COVID-19 pulmonary sequelae

A general linear repeated measures model with the within-subject factor "Time" (Time 1: 3 months post infection and Time 2: 12 months post infection)" and the between-subject factor "Group" (patients with post infection sequelae and patients without post infection sequelae) was performed to analyse the evolution in the different dimensions of HRQoL, as well as possible differences according to group.

Regarding the variable Time, no differences were found between Time 1 (3 months post infection) and Time 2 (12 months post infection) in any of the HRQoL dimensions (p > 0.05), except in the case of the PCS dimension F(1,128) = 7.045, p = 0.009, n2partial = . 052 and MCS F(1,128) = 5.615, p = 0.019, n2partial = 0.042. In the case of PCS, at Time 2 participants obtained lower scores compared to Time 1; however, with respect to MCS, at Time 2 participants showed higher scores compared to Time 1.

Regarding the interaction "Time × Group", no significant interaction effect was found in most dimensions, except for GH F(1,128) = 8.761, p = 0.004, n2partial = 0.064. However, post-hoc analysis did not reveal significant differences in any specific time (p > 0.05).

Finally, no significant main effect of the factor "Group" was found (p > 0.05).

Table 3 shows the means and standard deviations of the scores obtained in each of the HRQoL dimensions both in the total sample and in each of the groups separately, taking into account the assessment time.

Table 3 Differences in the scores of the items of the SF-36 questionnaire at 3 and 12 months after infection.

Analysis of evolution and differences in HRQoL between patients with post COVID-19 pulmonary sequelae and patients without post COVID-19 pulmonary sequelae controlling for possible confounders

Considering that several differences have been identified in the characteristics of the sample at baseline, mainly regarding age, Charlson index, days of hospitalization and Pneumonia extension at initial radiograph; analyses of repeated measures were replicated but including these variables as covariates in the model.

In relation to the interaction "Time × Group", the significant effect of the interaction was maintained in the dimension GH F(1,124) = 6.313, p = 0.013, n2partial = 0.048. No significant effect of this interaction was found in any other dimension of HRQoL (p > 0.05).

Regarding the effect of the main factor "Group", differences were found in the dimension VT F(1,124) = 4.223, p = 0.042, n2partial = 0.033. For the remaining HRQoL dimensions, no significant main effect of the Group factor was found.

In relation to the covariates, days of hospitalization emerged significant in the between-subject effects in the following dimensions: FP F(1,124) = 4.453, p = 0.037, n2partial = 0.035; RP F(1,124) = 7.070, p = 0.009, n2partial = 0.054; PA F(1,124) = 6.435, p = 0.012, n2partial = 0.049; VT F(1,124) = 4.330, p = 0.039, n2partial = 0.034; SF F(1,124) = 6.137, p = 0.015, n2partial = 0.047; RE F(1,124) = 4.482, p = 0.036, n2partial = 0.035; MH F(1,124) = 4.548, p = 0.035, n2partial = 0.035; PCS F(1,124) = 4.022, p = 0.047, n2partial = 0.031 and MCS F(1,124) = 4.518, p = 0.036, n2partial = 0.035.

Charslon’s index was significant for between-subject effects in GH F(1,124) = 5.160, p = 0.025, n2partial = 0.040 and SF F(1,124) = 4.411, p = 0.038, n2partial = 0.034. In addition, it was significant for within-subject effects in the case of MH F(1,124) = 4.850, p = 0.029, n2partial = 0.038.

Radiological score at baseline was significant in between-subject effects in TV F(1,124) = 4.478, p = 0.036, n2partial = 0.035 and in MH F(1,124) = 4.662, p = 0.033, n2partial = 0.036.

Institutional review board statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of Investigación de Medicamentos del departamento de salud de Alicante (Dictamen Favorable PI2021-090 (ISABIAL 2021-0145)).

Informed consent

Consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

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Multiple treatable traits (TTs) were found to be highly prevalent in patients with COPD/advanced emphysema who were eligible for bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) using endobronchial valves (EBV), according to study findings published in Respiratory Medicine.

Investigators in The Netherlands conducted a prospective multicenter randomized controlled trial (the SoLVE study; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03474471) to explore the impact of pulmonary rehabilitation on 16 treatable traits in patients with COPD/advanced emphysema receiving EBV treatment. As a secondary outcome, the researchers also characterized TTs associated with severely impaired health-related quality of life (HRQL) using the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ).

Eligible patients had a physician diagnosis of COPD/severe emphysema, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of no more than 45% predicted, FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio less than 70%, total lung capacity (TLC) greater than 100% predicted, and residual volume greater than 175% predicted. Included patients had a COPD Assessment Test total score of at least 10. Patients with low exercise capacity (6-minute walk test <160 m) and/or severe respiratory failure (partial pressure of carbon dioxide [PaCO2]>8.0kPA and/or partial pressure of oxygen<6.0kPa) were excluded as were those with significant immunodeficiency, bronchiectasis, chronic bronchitis, or previous lobectomy.

The trial included 97 participants (mean [SD] age, 62.4 [6.8] years; 72.9% women). Among the participants, the mean smoking pack years was 39; 58.8% had frequent exacerbations; and 34.0% had at least 1 hospitalization in the previous year.  

COPD patients with advanced emphysema eligible for BLVR with EBV display a spectrum of treatable traits which were highly prevalent. Having more TTs and more specifically anxiety, depression or fatigue, is associated with a worse HRQL.

TTs assessed were: (1) severe dyspnea; (2) very severe airflow limitation; (3) frequent exacerbations; (4) poor exercise capacity; (5) low physical activity; (6) hypoxemia; (7) hypercapnia; (8) underweight; (9) obesity; (10) low muscle mass; (11) decreased bone mineral density; (12) impaired handgrip force; (13) impaired quadriceps force; (14) severe fatigue; (15) anxiety; and (16) depression.

The mean (SD) TTs per participant was 8.1 (2.5; range 2-15); the most prevalent TTs included low physical activity (95%), poor exercise capacity (94%), and severe fatigue (75%).

Overall, participants were characterized by severe lung hyperinflation, severe airflow limitation, and poor HRQL (median total SGRQ score was 60).

When participants were stratified by low vs high SGRQ total score (less than 60 points vs 60 or greater points), the researchers found that the most significant predictors of having a higher SGRQ total score were severe fatigue, depression, and anxiety. A significant although moderate positive correlation was found between the sum of TTs present in a participant and that participant’s SGRQ total score (r=0.53; P <.001).

Study limitations include the strict inclusion/exclusion criteria, which may have affected the prevalence of specific TTs; lack of examination of some significant TTs (eg, persistent systemic inflammation, adherence to pharmacotherapy, family/social support); and lack of a comparator severe COPD group not eligible for BLVR-EBV.

The study authors concluded that “COPD patients with advanced emphysema eligible for BLVR with EBV display a spectrum of treatable traits which were highly prevalent. Having more TTs and more specifically anxiety, depression or fatigue, is associated with a worse HRQL. Findings of this study advocate a multidimensional assessment and management of this specific COPD phenotype.”

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was found to be the most common and severe comorbidity of adult asthma, nearly 10 times more prevalent in this population than among a matched cohort of adults without asthma, according to a research team from Finland.

Following COPD, the risk each for acute rhinosinusitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and atopic dermatitis (AD) was 4-fold greater among adults without asthma. Risk of pneumonia was 2.5-fold greater and of allergic rhinitis, 2.3-fold greater. Other common comorbidities of adult asthma included dysfunctional breathing, diabetes, pneumonia, sleep apnea, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

The findings come from a population-based matched cohort study led by Jussi Karjalainen, MD, PhD, of Tampere University Hospital in Tampere, Finland, and were published online March 14, 2024, in BMJ Open Respiratory Research.

Asthma affects approximately 4% to 10% of the adult population and compared with childhood onset disease is commonly nonatopic and associated with more rapid decline in lung function, the authors wrote. Remission probability is much lower in adult asthma, about 3% to 18% compared with up to 60% in childhood, according to the study. Moreover, asthma-related mortality, health care use, and cost of care also are higher among adults. The researchers state that better understanding and treatment of the many asthma-related comorbidities has the potential to reduce the burden of disease as well as the cost.

The study was designed to explore the range of comorbidities associated with asthma in adults and investigate the differences in distribution of the diseases between Finnish citizens with asthma and controls without asthma matched for age, gender, and area of residence.

Participants with physician-diagnosed asthma were identified from the Drug Reimbursement Register of the Finnish Social Insurance Institution and completed a baseline questionnaire in January 1997. The cohort was followed from January 1998 to December 31, 2013. Extended data for study participants were collected from the national discharge registry of the Institute for Health and Welfare and included information on diagnoses and care in both inpatient and outpatient settings and from primary care and specialists. Follow-up time for the outcomes of interest varied between 14 and 15 years, according to the study.

For their analysis, Karjalainen et al included all main diagnoses that had a minimum of 200 events. They used Cox’s proportional hazards models stratified by the matching criteria. They also adjusted for pack years and/or BMI to evaluate the matched and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for asthma among the 2 cohorts.

The final cohort with asthma numbered 1648 and without asthma 3310. The mean age of study participants at enrollment was 53.9 years for those with asthma and 54.4 years for those without asthma; the cohort was 62% women.

FINDINGS

Patients with asthma were less likely to be never smokers, more likely to be ever smokers, and had higher incidences of obesity compared with those without asthma.

COPD was found to be significantly more common among patients with asthma (HR, 7.93; 95% CI, 5.24-12) compared with those without asthma. Additionally, patients with asthma had a 4-fold risk of acute rhinosinusitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, AD, and vocal cord dysfunction, while pneumonia and chronic rhinosinusitis were 2.5 times more common among patients with asthma. Other comorbidities found to be twice as common among those with asthma were sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease, diabetes, allergic rhinitis, and dysfunctional breathing. The researchers also reported significant associations between asthma and musculoskeletal diseases, incontinence, and bronchiectasis.

They cite as strengths of the study the long follow-up time, the population-based, matched cohort design, and physician-diagnosed asthma that included lung function tests. Limitations they mention include that data were based on clinical practice and diagnostic coding and may have varied between hospitals or physicians. Second, the use of pharmacotherapy of any kind for asthma could have been a confounding variable and there was no follow-up data available on medication use.

They concluded, however, that “Our study shows that patients with adult asthma suffer from several coexisting diseases that may share similar aetiological and immunological pathways with asthma and decrease” the efficacy of asthma management regimens. They stress the importance of comanagement of comorbidities to enhance care and to reduce cost.


Source: Lemmetyinen RE, Toppila-Salmi SK, But A, et al. Comorbidities associated with adult asthma: a population-based matched cohort study in Finland. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2024;11(1):e001959. Published online March 14, 2024. doi:10.1136/bmjresp-2023-001959

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We suggest a “back to basics” approach to treating lung disease in Indigenous people in the Top End by making best use of limited resources, as shown in our recent study that used a simple chest x-ray and spirometry.

Associate Professor Ford’s mother Nancy Daiyi used to describe her health as “Ngu.ngook tjan!”.

The English translation is “I am short wind” meaning she was out of breath and finding it difficult to breathe. The Indigenous people in Australia believe that the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of body is connected to the wind – “the lungs”. To be “short wind” is to represent sickness and “good wind” means “I’m alive and well” (here). Sadly, in a high income country such as Australia, the story of “short wind” continues to be highly prevalent among Indigenous Australians with chronic lung diseases. We still have a health equity gap to bridge to the “good wind” story. Almost one in three Indigenous Australians self-report current long term respiratory disease, and hospitalisation rates for respiratory diseases are 2.4 times higher in Indigenous Australians compared with their non‑Indigenous counterparts (here).

The age-standardised rate of deaths from respiratory disease, shown below in Figure 1, has changed very little over the past decade (2010–2019). Part of the systemic failure to address the disparity in respiratory health outcomes may be due to the lack of relevant and appropriate data collection and respiratory research funding allocations in the past.

Our basic understanding of lung health is lacking; that is, normative lung function values in Indigenous adults, chest radiology data, guidelines on diagnosis and disease classifications, therapeutic guidelines and interventions specific for Indigenous adults. Understandably, this gives rise to diagnostic and management challenges in day-to-day clinical practice.

Moreover, due to the lack of Indigenous-specific diagnostic and management guidelines, health practitioners inevitably adopt the established non-Indigenous management practices, which may not necessarily be appropriate. Our research from Flinders University and Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory (NT), has highlighted lung health issues among adult Indigenous patients in the Top End region of the NT of Australia in the past five years, and has demonstrated how different chronic respiratory diseases manifest in Indigenous people compared with non-Indigenous people, which is of interest for health organisations and all community stakeholders.

 - Featured Image
Figure 1. Rate of hospitalisations (2009–10 to 2018–19) and deaths (2010–2019) due to respiratory disease, by Indigenous status (age-standardised). Source: www.indigenoushpf.gov.au

What does the research demonstrate?

In addition to common lung conditions such as asthma, bronchiectasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), uncommon, advanced and complex concurrent lung conditions are highly prevalent in Indigenous people (here, here and here). Indigenous adults typically present with chronic respiratory disorders at a much younger age, with a marginally higher prevalence in remote compared with urban areas, and die younger (here, here and here). “Short wind” — shortness of breath — is one of the most common presenting symptoms (here).

To date, lung function (spirometry) reference norms have not been well established for Indigenous adults. This raises a fundamental question: if we do not know what is normal, how are we going to say what is abnormal? Our studies have shown that, when adopting lung function reference norms based on people of European ancestry, even apparently healthy Indigenous adults may be 20% lower and only 10–12% lie in the normal range. Indigenous adults’ lung function parameters also do not match any published ethnic populations (here and here).

Hence, there are challenges imposed in the accurate diagnosis and severity classification of lung disease in Indigenous people. Indeed, our research has demonstrated that the majority of Indigenous patients with COPD will be classified to have severe airway disease if using reference norms based on people of European ancestry (here).

Another study has shown significant differences in the manifestation of COPD in Indigenous people in comparison to non-Indigenous people (here). Hence, by applying current guidelines in the management of patients with COPD, many may be misclassified with the severity of lung disease, which could give way for potentially inappropriate treatment interventions, more specifically in the use of inhaled directed airway therapy.

Studies from the Top End have shown the concurrent presence of COPD and bronchiectasis are highly prevalent in Indigenous people (here and here). Although both conditions share similar clinical features, the management is different, especially when considering inhaled corticosteroids. Inhaled corticosteroids are recommended to be used with caution in patients with bronchiectasis. A study from the Top End has shown marked decline in lung function parameters among a proportion of patients using inhaled corticosteroids with bronchiectasis (here and here).

Although the prevalence of asthma among Indigenous Australians is portrayed to be highest in the world, much higher than their non-Indigenous counterparts, studies exploring the prevalence may have had methodological flaws by utilising patients’ recall of a past asthma diagnosis.

However, an NT study has illustrated that patients’ knowledge on their lung condition is extremely poor (here). Our study from the Top End has shown when using objective measures of accurate asthma diagnosis, the rates of asthma are not any different in Indigenous people compared with their non-Indigenous counterparts (here).

From “short wind” to “good wind”: fighting chronic lung disease in Indigenous Australians - Featured Image
Recent studies have demonstrated a high burden of respiratory conditions, with multiple advanced and complex chest imaging findings (bendao / Shutterstock).

Until recently, there has been an unprecedented gap in our knowledge in relation to chest radiology data among Indigenous adults. Recent studies have demonstrated a high burden of respiratory conditions, with multiple advanced and complex chest imaging findings, including the presence of cystic lung disease and mediastinal lymph node disease (here, here, here and here). Furthermore, the use of common recreational substances can have catastrophic effects in this setting, as recently described in a case series of using cannabis via “bucket bong” (the “bucket bong” lung) (here).

Another recent study from the Top End has demonstrated for the first time that lung nodules are an extremely common chest radiology finding, yet the majority are benign (here). Data on lung nodules and malignancy are limited in Indigenous populations. To add to the complexity, remotely residing Indigenous people often have severe obstructive sleep apnoea, and acceptance of modern treatment intervention devices such as continuous positive airway therapy (CPAP) is challenging (here and here).

Sadly, literature addressing pleural effusion among Indigenous patients is almost non-existent other than a single study from the NT demonstrating one of the most common causes for pleural effusion in this population is secondary to chronic renal disease, which is also highly prevalent (here).

The future

Rates of chronic lung disease disparity in health outcomes, lack of equity and the failure of the closing the gap initiatives in the ongoing morbidity and mortality among Indigenous adults are likely to stay the same for the foreseeable future until and unless drastic actions are undertaken. The rhetoric now is how and where to from here in the quest to close the lung health gap?

It is critical that health practitioners are aware of the differing demographic and clinical manifestations of chronic lung disease in Indigenous people compared with non-Indigenous people. We argue that further research should focus on gathering clinical data, normative spirometry reference values and radiology data. Indigenous-specific guidelines for appropriate diagnosis, classification and management of chronic airway disease are paramount.

Indigenous-specific lung cancer screening pathways; robust smoking cessation programs, including ill effects of cannabis use; provision of regular physiotherapy services for airway clearance; and education to empower patients to take responsibility for their health are required. This will not be achievable unless there is a shift in relevant health organisations, stakeholders and, more importantly, research funding bodies to engage and support Indigenous health workers and practitioners in regional and rural communities for clinician-led research to address realistic needs.

Until then, we suggest a “back to basics” approach by making the best use of limited resources to aid in the appropriate management of respiratory disorders in remote Indigenous communities. As demonstrated in a recent study, utilising simple chest x-ray and spirometry has fair sensitivity and specificity in the accurate diagnosis of chronic airway disease (here).

Although we have demonstrated several aspects of the respiratory health burden in Indigenous people, including issues relating to pulmonary function testing and appearances on chest computed tomography (CT) and endpoint datasets, much more work remains to be done. The Australian Government-approved Lung Cancer Screening Program and co-design work, with a collaborate yarning methodology, working with National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), is in progress, with a fully funded low dose chest CT Lung Cancer Screening Program set to commence in 2025 (here, here and here).

We have to wait and see if this work may shed more light on respiratory health burden in the wider community of Indigenous Australians to reduce the disparity in respiratory health.

Associate Professor Subash S Heraganahally is the Head of the Department of Respiratory and Sleep at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Director of Darwin Respiratory and Sleep Health at Darwin private hospital and an Associate Professor in the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University.

Dr Timothy Howarth is a Researcher for Darwin Respiratory and Sleep Health at Darwin private hospital and a Post-Doctoral researcher in the Sleep Technology and Analytics Research group at the University of Eastern Finland.

Associate Professor Linda Ford is a Mak Mak Marranunggu woman from the Northern Territory, and a Senior Research Fellow in the Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University.

Dr Lisa Sorger is the Chief Medical Officer for Integral Diagnostics and Consultant Radiologist at Apex Radiology Western Australia.   

The statements or opinions expressed in this article reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy of the AMA, the MJA or InSight+ unless so stated. 

Subscribe to the free InSight+ weekly newsletter here. It is available to all readers, not just registered medical practitioners. 

If you would like to submit an article for consideration, send a Word version to [email protected]. 

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Respiratory Disorders Treatment Market Anticipated to Grow at

Respiratory disorders pose significant health challenges worldwide, affecting millions of individuals and placing a substantial burden on healthcare systems. The respiratory disorders treatment market encompasses a diverse array of therapies, medications, and interventions aimed at managing conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and respiratory infections. This article explores the latest advancements in the respiratory disorders treatment market, highlighting innovative therapies, emerging trends, and their impact on patients' respiratory health and quality of life.

Respiratory Disorders Treatment market is estimated to attain a valuation of US$ 108 Bn by the end of 2027, states a study by Transparency Market Research (TMR). Besides, the report notes that the market is prognosticated to expand at a CAGR of 6% during the forecast period, 2019-2027

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The significant players operating in the global Respiratory Disorders Treatment market are

Mylan N.V, AstraZeneca plc, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis AG, Sanofi, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, CHIESI Farmaceutici S.p.A., Cipla, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

Key Advancements:

Biologic Therapies: Biologic therapies, including monoclonal antibodies and targeted biologic agents, have revolutionized the treatment of severe asthma and COPD by targeting specific inflammatory pathways and immune mediators involved in airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction. Biologics such as omalizumab, mepolizumab, benralizumab, and dupilumab offer personalized treatment options for patients with uncontrolled asthma or eosinophilic COPD, reducing exacerbations, improving lung function, and enhancing quality of life.

Precision Medicine: Advances in precision medicine and biomarker identification enable tailored treatment approaches based on individual patient characteristics, disease phenotypes, and genetic profiles. Biomarkers such as fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), blood eosinophil counts, and genetic markers help predict treatment response, guide medication selection, and optimize therapeutic outcomes in respiratory disorders, facilitating personalized care and precision medicine interventions.

Digital Health Solutions: Digital health technologies, including mobile apps, wearable devices, and telemedicine platforms, empower patients with respiratory disorders to monitor symptoms, track lung function, and access remote healthcare services. Telemedicine consultations, virtual pulmonary rehabilitation programs, and home spirometry devices enhance patient engagement, improve access to care, and enable real-time monitoring of respiratory health parameters, promoting self-management and early intervention in respiratory exacerbations.

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Market Trends:

Prevalence of Respiratory Diseases: The rising prevalence of respiratory diseases, including asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis, and respiratory infections, drives demand for respiratory disorder treatments worldwide. Environmental factors, air pollution, tobacco smoke exposure, and aging populations contribute to the increasing burden of respiratory disorders, necessitating effective management strategies, preventive measures, and innovative treatment options to address the growing healthcare challenges associated with respiratory health.

Pharmacological Innovations: Pharmaceutical companies invest in research and development to introduce novel pharmacological agents, inhalation devices, and drug delivery technologies for respiratory disorder treatment. Long-acting bronchodilators, combination inhalers, triple therapy regimens, and fixed-dose combinations offer convenient, effective, and simplified treatment options for patients with asthma and COPD, enhancing treatment adherence, reducing medication burden, and optimizing disease control.

Patient-Centered Care: Patient-centered care models, shared decision-making approaches, and multidisciplinary care teams prioritize patients' preferences, values, and treatment goals in respiratory disorder management. Collaborative care plans, patient education programs, and self-management strategies empower individuals with respiratory diseases to actively participate in their care, make informed treatment choices, and achieve optimal respiratory health outcomes, fostering partnerships between patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers.

Market Segmentation -

Disease

Asthma

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Lung Cancer

Respiratory Tract Infection

Allergic Rhinitis

Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

Others

Drug Class

Bronchodilators

Corticosteroids

Combination Drugs

Antibiotics

Target Therapy

Immunotherapy

CFTR

Others

Route of Administration

Oral

Nasal

Injectable

Distribution Channel

Hospital Pharmacies

Retail Pharmacies

Online Pharmacies

This Report lets you identify the opportunities in Respiratory Disorders Treatment Market by means of a region:

North America (the United States, Canada, and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, Turkey, etc.)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam))

South America (Brazil etc.) The Middle East and Africa (North Africa and GCC Countries)

Key Features of the Respiratory Disorders Treatment Market Report: -

➤ Analyze competitive developments such as expansions, deployments, new product launches, and market acquisitions.

➤ Examine the market opportunities for stakeholders by identifying higher growth sections.

➤ To study and analyze the global Respiratory Disorders Treatment industry status and forecast including key regions.

➤ An in-depth analysis of key product segments and application spectrum, providing strategic recommendations to incumbents and new entrants to give them a competitive advantage over others.

➤ It provides a comprehensive analysis of key regions of the industry as well as a SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces analysis to provide a deeper understanding of the market.

➤ It helps you make strategic business decisions and investment plans.

More Trending Reports by Transparency Market Research -

Brine Concentration Technology Market: www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2024/03/01/2838556/32656/en/Brine-Concentration-Technology-Market-to-Reach-USD-20-4-billion-Surging-at-a-CAGR-of-4-3-by-2031-Transparency-Market-Research-Inc.html

Biopharmaceutical Fermentation Systems Market: www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2024/03/01/2838573/32656/en/Biopharmaceutical-Fermentation-Systems-Market-Projected-to-Reach-USD-52-6-billion-by-2031-with-a-CAGR-of-9-5-Report-by-Transparency-Market-Research-Inc.html

About Us Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research, a global market research company registered at Wilmington, Delaware, United States, provides custom research and consulting services. The firm scrutinizes factors shaping the dynamics of demand in various markets. The insights and perspectives on the markets evaluate opportunities in various segments. The opportunities in the segments based on source, application, demographics, sales channel, and end-use are analysed, which will determine growth in the markets over the next decade.

Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insights for thousands of decision-makers, made possible by experienced teams of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants. The proprietary data sources and various tools & techniques we use always reflect the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in all of its business reports.

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Introduction

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are both common diseases diagnosed by the presence of chronic symptoms such as cough, sputum, shortness of breath, and airflow obstruction. Several clinical/inflammatory factors are commonly associated with the risk of developing asthma or COPD or with important clinical outcomes such as reduced lung function, exacerbations, reduced quality of life and mortality.1,2 They are characterized by their complex and heterogeneous nature, both clinically and in their molecular pathogenesis. Endotype is a dynamic molecular network that arises when an individual’s genetic factors interact with various environmental factors, such as infections, air pollution, tobacco smoke, antibiotics, and lung flora, driving the phenotype in a particular patient. Given the clinical and biological complexity and heterogeneity of the diseases, the development of therapeutic strategies targeting individual endotypes could help us enable early identification of disease risk with a high degree of accuracy and implementation of preventive strategies.3

Numerous genetic studies, including genome-wide association studies (GWAS), have found a number of loci that influence the development of asthma and COPD, and several genetic factors are common to both diseases. Genetic contribution of individual common variants to disease susceptibility is very small, especially in isolation, and the small proportion of heritability explained by these variants makes it difficult to predict disease onset in a practical clinical setting. At present, the more important significance of GWAS, however, is not to estimate individual risk, but rather to discover the biological pathways underlying complex diseases.4 The pathophysiological pathways identified by GWAS for a disease have important implications not only for carriers of a particular genetic polymorphism, but also in the origins of the disease itself.

This review describes representative endotypes indicated by genetic and molecular data to be commonly involved in both asthma and COPD, including chronic non-type 2 inflammation, type 2 inflammation, increased susceptibility to viral infections, and impaired lung development and repair/remodeling. Advances in genomic medicine in asthma and COPD are critically important for achieving precision medicine, allowing a departure from the current one-size-fits-all medicine according to disease labels or clinical symptoms, and population approach to disease incidence prevention that does not consider individual disease susceptibility.5

Overlap Between Asthma and COPD

Dutch hypothesis was proposed more than 50 years ago.6 In this hypothesis, asthma and COPD are two phenotypes of a syndrome called chronic nonspecific lung disease (CNSLD), where CNSLD is defined as the result of an interaction between intrinsic genetic factors and extrinsic factors such as viral infection, air pollution, tobacco smoke exposure, and allergen exposure. The timing of this interaction during an individual patient’s life stage determines which clinical syndrome develops (ie, asthma or COPD) or whether characteristics of both asthma and COPD appear. Thus, a particular genetic factor may combine with a particular environmental factor to cause asthma, or the same genetic factor may combine with another genetic or environmental factor to cause COPD.7 Several genes and loci have been reported as common factors in susceptibility to asthma and COPD.7,8 We performed a PubMed database search published through September 2012 for asthma, COPD, tuberculosis, and essential hypertension, respectively. For each disease, pathway-based analysis was performed to determine how the identified genes interacted with each other.8 In at least two independent reports, a total of 108 genes were found to be associated with asthma and 58 with COPD. These genes were grouped into multiple networks according to functional annotation. Twelve networks were found in asthma and 11 in COPD, and the overlapping network between the two diseases formed one complex network consisting of 229 common molecules (Figure 1). These overlapping molecules were significantly associated with aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling, the role of cytokines in mediating information transfer between immune cells, glucocorticoid receptor signaling, and pathways involved in IL-12 signaling and production in macrophages. At the network level, the Jaccard similarity index for asthma and COPD was 0.81, with an odds ratio of 3.62 for asthma/COPD pair in comparison to tuberculosis/essential hypertension pair. The overlap in the asthma and COPD gene networks indicated a high degree of pathobiological similarity between these two diseases.

Figure 1 Overlapping networks between asthma and COPD. The Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software program identified 229 overlapping molecules between 12 asthma networks and 11 COPD networks, and merged them into a single larger network. In total, 229 genes were common to both diseases, and 190 and 91 genes were unique to asthma and COPD, respectively. Each network is represented by a colored rectangle, and is labeled with its corresponding network number. Adapted with permission from Dove Medical Press. Kaneko Y, Yatagai Y, Yamada H, et al. The search for common pathways underlying asthma and COPD. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2013;8:65–78.8

Common Pathogenesis Characterized by Chronic Non-Type 2 Airway Inflammation

As discussed in the section above, AhR signaling is implicated in common pathologies of asthma and COPD; AhR acts as a regulator of mucosal barrier function and affects lung immunity by inducing changes in gene expression, intercellular adhesion, mucin production, and cytokine expression.9 Although the binding of this receptor to different ligands leads to what seems to be variable responses, AhR-regulated neutrophils and Th17 cells are involved in the responses to pro-inflammatory stimuli, including tobacco smoke and air pollutants.10 The AhR-ROS-NLRP3 inflammasome functional axis, which regulates Muc5ac expression and airway inflammation, may also be involved in airway inflammation in asthma and COPD.11

We performed a GWAS of adult-onset asthma that developed over the age of 40 and identified the HCG22 gene as a susceptibility gene.12 This gene was also associated with diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) and COPD. DPB is a chronic neutrophilic bronchiolitis with chronic cough, sputum, and shortness of breath on exertion as the main symptoms, and its prevalence increases after the age of 40 years. HCG22 is a novel mucin-like gene13 located at 6p21.3, the DPB susceptibility gene region. Furthermore, HCG22 has been reported to be associated with tree-in-bud pattern identified on chest computed tomography in asthmatic patients and with steroid refractoriness requiring high doses of corticosteroids.14 Based on its amino acid sequence, HCG22 has a chitin-binding protein-like structure.15 YKL-40, a chitinase-like protein similar to HCG22, has been reported to be associated with phenotypes characterized by neutrophilic inflammation in asthma and COPD.16,17 Chitin is a pathogen-associated molecular pattern found in mites and fungi, and it is of interest due to its involvement in infection immunity in the airway mucosa, and its association with the pathogenesis of middle-age-onset asthma, COPD, and DPB. Recently, the new disease category of muco-obstructive lung disease has been proposed, and it includes COPD, primary ciliary dyskinesia, and bronchiectasis.18 Mucus-derived obstruction is characterized by altered airway microbiota, mucociliary dysfunction, neutrophilic inflammation, and airway destruction, which are also important features in DPB and a subgroup of patients with non-type 2 asthma.

We have found a gene encoding HA synthase 2 (HAS2) as associated with asthma.19 HAS2 is a glycosaminoglycan found in the extracellular matrix and is highly expressed in the lung. Asthma-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affected the expression levels of HAS2 mRNA. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is involved in many physiological and pathological processes, including cell migration, morphogenesis, tissue regeneration, wound repair, and tumor cell proliferation and invasion, and increased levels of HA in sputum have been reported in COPD patients.20 Patients with higher levels of hyaluronan had impaired lung function than patients with patients with normal hyaluronan levels. In addition, influx of neutrophil and levels of interleukin-8 and soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors were higher in COPD patients with elevated HA levels. Decreased Has2 expression in mice enhanced ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway inflammation, including increased neutrophils and eosinophils, airway hyperresponsiveness, and attenuated CD44 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling.21 CD44 is an HA binding protein and decreased CD44 downregulates TGF-β. In addition, lung mRNA sequencing and pathway analysis identified enriched terms “IL-17A signaling in fibroblasts”, “NRF2-mediated oxidative stress response”, and “glucocorticoid receptor signaling”. These terms were thought to be associated with severe asthma and COPD. Furthermore, in a chronic OVA sensitization and challenge-induced asthma model,22 IL-17A levels in lung homogenates were higher in Has2 heteroknockout OVA mice than in wild-type mice, and Has2 heteroknockout OVA mice showed goblet cell hyperplasia and excessive mucus production. Thus, chronic OVA stimulation induced a characteristic phenotype of airway remodeling through Has2-mediated attenuation of IL-17 and TGF-β signaling.

Taken together, neutrophil inflammation is recognized as an important pathogenic factor in asthma as well as COPD.

Common Pathogenesis Characterized by Type 2 Inflammation

Eosinophilic airway inflammation is found in patients with COPD as well as asthma, and the presence of eosinophilic inflammation is associated with exacerbations and responsiveness to inhaled corticosteroids. Overall, 612 (56%) of 1094 Japanese COPD patients had an absolute eosinophil number of 150 cells/mm3 or greater, and 902 (69%) of 1304 Japanese patients had an eosinophil fraction of 2% or greater23 (Figure 2). In a study comparing the comprehensive gene expression in the airway epithelial cells of asthma and COPD patients, the gene expression levels associated with type 2 inflammation were increased not only in asthma patients, but also in COPD patients.24 In particular, the expression of type 2-related genes in COPD patients was associated with stronger airflow limitation, airway eosinophil infiltration, and even the responsiveness to inhaled corticosteroid (ICS).

Figure 2 The distribution of blood eosinophil levels in a Japanese COPD clinical trial database. Distribution of (A) absolute blood eosinophil count and (B) percentage blood eosinophils among Japanese patients with COPD. Reprinted with permission from Dove Medical Press. Barnes N, Ishii T, Hizawa N, et al. The distribution of blood eosinophil levels in a Japanese COPD clinical trial database and in the rest of the world. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2018;13:433–440.23

In a large GWAS of 8068 patients with the overlapping asthma and COPD pathology in the UK Biobank and 4301 patients with the overlapping pathology from other cohorts, eight loci were identified,25 including the thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) gene. These eight loci were not clearly associated with smoking habits, but they were strongly associated with the peripheral blood eosinophil counts, immunoglobulin (Ig) E sensitization and asthma, suggesting the importance of type 2 inflammation in the overlapping pathology. Elevated TSLP protein and TSLP mRNA levels have been reported in bronchial epithelium in COPD patients.26 Multiple factors related to exacerbations of asthma and COPD, including respiratory viruses, cigarette smoke, and inflammatory cytokines, have been associated with increased TSLP production.27–30 TSLP gene was also identified as a potential susceptibility locus for impaired lung function in non-COPD, non-asthmatic healthy subjects, which supports the idea that TSLP is a genetic determinant of lung function that influences the risk of developing asthma and COPD.31

The ORMDL3/GSDMB gene located on chromosome 17q has been consistently associated with childhood-onset asthma, and most asthma patients associated with this gene are atopic. In addition, an association of the region with overlap between COPD and asthma without rhinitis has been reported.32 Susceptibility to rhinovirus (RV) infection is associated with this genetic region that affects transcription and protein expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM1), a major receptor for human RV (HRV).33 ORMDL3/GSDMB has also been implicated in the development of childhood asthma related to indirect exposure to smoking at home.34 Furthermore, the importance of ORMDL3/GSDMB was indicated in susceptibility to early-onset adult asthma in Japanese. While the region was not associated with allergic sensitization, it was strongly associated with increased serum total IgE levels,35 and therefore, the region appears to act as a stress sensor in the airways caused by viral infections and smoking, and promotes airway inflammation through an enhanced innate type 2 immune response.

Common Pathogenesis Characterized by Increased Susceptibility to Viral Infections

HRV is an important risk factor for exacerbations both in asthma and COPD. RV induces several cytokines including IFNα, IFNγ, TNFα, CXCL10/11, and CC chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) in airway epithelial cells. The airway epithelial cell responses to RV was overlapped with gene expression signatures reported in patients with asthma or COPD.36

We previously found that the gain-of-function −28G allele of a promoter SNP (rs2280788) in the CCL5 gene was a risk factor for adult-onset asthma who developed the disease at age 40 years or older, and also for COPD who had less emphysema lesions.37,38 Given that the CCL5 gene is a pathway involved in both the pathogenesis of older-onset asthma and COPD with less emphysema, it is interesting that CCL5 is shown to contributes to tissue-resident T cell-associated T1 neutrophilic inflammation in asthma and correlates with T2 inflammation and sputum eosinophilia as well.39

The CDHR3 gene, which was identified in GWAS of childhood asthma with frequent severe exacerbations, was found to encode a receptor for RV type C.40 We confirmed that the functional variant at CDHR3 has a significant genetic influence in Japanese adult asthma patients with onset by age 10 years, and that the association is stronger when restricted to allergen sensitization-positive individuals.41 In addition, a 10-year observational study was conducted to examine the genetic impact of the CDHR3 gene on the newly development of asthma or COPD in 1523 healthy adults with no pulmonary disease who had health checkups in 2008. During the 10-year period, a total of 79 cases and 25 cases newly developed asthma and COPD, respectively. The CDHR3 gene had a genetic influence on the development of asthma or COPD, especially in adults with allergen sensitization in 2008.42 A molecular network (endotypes) derived from the susceptibility to RV infection and allergen sensitization was found to be responsible not only for childhood-onset allergic asthma, but also for adult-onset asthma or COPD.

Common Pathogenesis Characterized by Impaired Lung Development and Repair/Remodeling in Asthma and COPD

The primary risk factor for COPD is smoking. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that lung disease in adults may originate from prenatal or early-life exposures to harmful stimuli.43 A whole genome sequencing study44 that compared 3181 moderate/severe asthmatics with 3590 non-asthmatic controls showed that asthma risk is genetically correlated with lung dysfunction. This genetic factor associated with asthma development was shown to be independent of genetic factors associated with eosinophilic inflammation that also contribute to asthma. The polygenic score for impaired lung function was also associated with early-onset of asthma. Thus, genes that influence lung development in utero and in early childhood, in combination with environmental exposure such as cigarette smoke and viral infections, all contribute to both childhood asthma and future COPD development.

Asthma and COPD are heterogeneous and complex diseases, because they are caused by multiple factors, and the impact of individual risk factors is small. A genetic risk score (GRS) has been applied to address the heterogeneity and complexity of these diseases.45 We developed a quantitative GRS according to genotypes at 16 SNPs implicated in impaired lung function in both Japanese and non-Japanese individuals.46 The modest effects of 16 SNPs were combined into a single variable, which was calculated as the weighted sum of the number of high-risk alleles at each SNP. The GRS with a reduced forced expiratory volume/forced lung capacity ratio was consistently associated with asthma or COPD in two independent Japanese populations. Clustering of patients with asthma according to their lung function GRS indicated that elevated GRS may be associated with the development of distinctive phenotype of asthma (early onset, atopy, and severe airflow obstruction). Analysis of the functional relevance of these 16 genes showed that lung function GRS is associated with molecular pathways involved in tissue repair and remodeling induced by lung injury. In addition, a study using UK Biobank data to examine the association of 391 genes known to regulate lung development and lung function in adults47 found that 55 genes were significantly associated with four biological categories including growth factors, transcriptional regulators, intercellular adhesion, and extracellular matrix. These results together showed the importance of lung growth-related genes in regulating lung function and influencing airflow obstruction in adults. Thus, respiratory function measurements from infancy through adolescence may facilitate early identification of individuals prone to lung growth failure, leading to early intervention and prevention of asthma and COPD development.

Several GWAS have indicated the hedgehog signaling pathway as an important pathway underlying lung function and COPD; hedgehog-interacting protein (HHIP) is a negative regulator of the hedgehog pathway and patched 1 (PCTH1) is a receptor that activates the pathway.48 In older adults with asthma, the PTCHD4 gene has recently been associated with the responsiveness to ICS, as indicated by the presence of oral corticosteroid bursts.49 PTCHD4 encodes patched domain-containing protein 4, which represses hedgehog signaling.50 Increased PTCHD4 mRNA expression was associated with aging, and enrichment of methylated CpG sites in the PTCHD4 gene was associated with COPD.51,52 Furthermore, COPD patients with larger lesion with airway smooth muscle cell of bronchial tissue responded better to ICS than those with smaller lesion with airway smooth muscle cell, suggesting that a detailed histological classification of COPD patients may reflect differences in endotypes and help determine treatment strategy.53 These results suggest that responsiveness to ICS in asthma and COPD patients may be strongly influenced by specific patient endotypes, and that patients with specific endotypes related to lung growth abnormalities or impaired injury repair may be less responsive to ICS.

Treatable Traits Approach in Patients with Asthma and COPD

Given the complexity and heterogeneity of chronic inflammatory pulmonary diseases, including asthma and COPD, their appropriate management requires a new approach that includes multidimensional assessment. Patients with chronic inflammatory pulmonary diseases should not be treated according to disease labels such as asthma, COPD, or asthma COPD overlap, but rather on what endotypes play a critical role in individual patients.54 In 2015, I had proposed a plausible approach for positioning ICSs and long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs)/long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) in the treatment of COPD based on both the extent of airflow obstruction and the presence of type 2 airway inflammation55 (Figure 3). Thereafter, a management strategy based on the so-called treatable traits was proposed.56,57

Figure 3 Approach to COPD treatment based on the degree of airflow obstruction and peripheral blood eosinophil counts. This proposal for positioning ICSs and bronchodilators for the treatment of COPD in clinical practice follows a personalized medicine approach that is not based on the stratification of patients into subgroups, but rather is based on individual characteristics that consider the heterogeneity and complexity of the disease in patients. Reprinted with permission from Dove Medical Press. Hizawa N. LAMA/LABA vs ICS/LABA in the treatment of COPD in Japan based on the disease phenotypes. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2015;10:1093–1102.55

We attempted to identify a group of patients who were more prone to exacerbations beyond the name of the diseases using multiple risk factors common to asthma and COPD exacerbations.58 As a result, we identified five distinct clusters, each characterized by high eosinophil counts, smokers with reduced lung function, gastroesophageal reflux, non-allergic women, or allergic rhinitis with high total IgE levels. Clinical heterogeneity of disease exacerbations was shown to possibly indicate the presence of exacerbation-prone endotypes common to asthma and COPD, supporting the benefit of a trait-based approach for exacerbation prevention in patients with chronic inflammatory pulmonary disease.

Recently, it was reported that in COPD patients with type 2 inflammation, in whom both blood eosinophil counts and FeNO are elevated, dupilumab, an antibody against the IL4 receptor alpha chain, leads to a reduction in exacerbation frequency, improvement in lung function and quality of life, and even improvement in respiratory symptoms compared to placebo.59 Considering that patients with currently diagnosed asthma or a history of asthma were excluded from the study, these results appear to support the usefulness of a treatable trait approach.

Conclusion

Both asthma and COPD are syndromes with highly variable clinical manifestations (phenotypes), including severity and course over time, and are caused by complex interactions between individual genetic factors and various environmental factors such as viral infection, allergen exposure, and tobacco smoke exposure (endotype). In this review, I have described four representative endotypes common to asthma and COPD (Figure 4). These endotypes are involved in patient pathogenesis in varying proportions. Furthermore, while the interactions of individual endotypes shape each patient’s pathology, the relative contribution of each endotype in an individual patient may change over time. Clinical traits or biomarkers could be used to identify the presence of each endotype. We must consider that it is not one endotype per patient, but rather the interaction of multiple endotypes that drives individual patient pathologies. With the advancement of genomic medicine, our understanding of endotypes will advance, new therapeutic agents will be developed, and the diseases will be reclassified according to specific phenotypes and biomarkers that reflect differences in molecular pathobiology, ushering in an era of precision medicine that targets the molecular mechanisms underlying the diseases in individual patients.

Figure 4 Common endotypes underlying asthma and COPD. Asthma and COPD are syndromes caused by complex interactions between individual genetic factors and various environmental factors. At any given time, the interaction of multiple endotypes drives individual patient pathologies and phenotypes.

Disclosure

The author has received speaker fees and/or research funding from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Kyorin Pharmaceutical, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Sanofi.

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11. Hu X, Shen Y, Zhao Y, et al. Epithelial aryl hydrocarbon receptor protects from mucus production by inhibiting ROS-triggered NLRP3 Inflammasome in asthma. Front Immunol. 2021;12:767508. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2021.767508

12. Yatagai Y, Hirota T, Sakamoto T, et al. Variants near the HLA complex group 22 gene (HCG22) confer increased susceptibility to late-onset asthma in Japanese populations. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016;138(1):281–283. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2015.11.023

13. Hijikata M, Matsushita I, Tanaka G, et al. Molecular cloning of two novel mucin-like genes in the disease-susceptibility locus for diffuse panbronchiolitis. Hum Genet. 2011;129(2):117–128. doi:10.1007/s00439-010-0906-4

14. Nomura N, Matsumoto H, Sunadome H, et al. Importance of mucus burden and mucociliary impairment in asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023;151(5):1410–1411. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2023.01.024

15. Jeong S, Patel N, Edlund CK, et al. Identification of a novel mucin gene HCG22 associated with steroid-induced ocular hypertension. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015;56(4):2737–2748. doi:10.1167/iovs.14-14803

16. Ober C, Tan Z, Sun Y, et al. Effect of variation in CHI3L1 on serum YKL-40 level, risk of asthma, and lung function. N Engl J Med. 2008;358(16):1682–1691. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0708801

17. James AJ, Reinius LE, Verhoek M, et al. Increased YKL-40 and chitotriosidase in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Am. J Respir Crit Care Med. 2016;193(2):131–142. doi:10.1164/rccm.201504-0760OC

18. Boucher RC, Drazen JM. Muco-obstructive lung diseases. N Engl J Med. 2019;380(20):1941–1953. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1813799

19. Yatagai Y, Sakamoto T, Yamada H, et al. Genomewide association study identifies HAS2 as a novel susceptibility gene for adult asthma in a Japanese population. Clin Exp Allergy. 2014;44(11):1327–1334. doi:10.1111/cea.12415

20. Dentener MA, Vernooy JHJ, Hendriks S, Wouters EFM. Enhanced levels of hyaluronan in lungs of patients with COPD: relationship with lung function and local inflammation. Thorax. 2005;60(2):114–119. doi:10.1136/thx.2003.020842

21. Tsunoda Y, Sherpa MT, Kiwamoto T, et al. Has2 deficiency enhances OVA- induced airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in mice. Allergy. 2021;76(7):2214–2218. doi:10.1111/all.14715

22. Sherpa MT, Kiwamoto T, Matsuyama M, et al. Has2 regulates the development of ovalbumin-induced airway remodeling and steroid insensitivity in mice. Front Immunol. 2022;12:770305. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2021.770305

23. Barnes N, Ishii T, Hizawa N, et al. The distribution of blood eosinophil levels in a Japanese COPD clinical trial database and in the rest of the world. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2018;13:433–440. doi:10.2147/COPD

24. Christenson SA, Steiling K, van den Berge M, et al. Asthma-COPD overlap Clinical relevance of genomic signatures of type 2 inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2015;191(7):758–766. doi:10.1164/rccm.201408-1458OC

25. John C, Guyatt AL, Shrine N, et al. Genetic Associations and Architecture of Asthma-COPD Overlap. Chest. 2022;161(5):1155–1166. doi:10.1016/j.chest

26. Ying S, O’Connor B, Ratoff J, et al. Expression and cellular provenance of thymic stromal lymphopoietin and chemokines in patients with severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. J Immunol. 2008;181(4):2790–2798. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.181.4.2790

27. Lee HC, Headley MB, Loo YM, et al. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin is induced by respiratory syncytial virus-infected airway epithelial cells and promotes a type 2 response to infection. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012;130(5):1187–1196.e5. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2012.07.031

28. Perez GF, Pancham K, Huseni S, et al. Rhinovirus infection in young children is associated with elevated airway TSLP levels. Eur Respir J. 2014;44(4):1075–1078. doi:10.1183/09031936.00049214

29. Nakamura Y, Miyata M, Ohba T, et al. Cigarette smoke extract induces thymic stromal lymphopoietin expression, leading to T(H)2-type immune responses and airway inflammation. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008;122(6):1208–1214. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2008.09.022

30. Smelter DF, Sathish V, Thompson MA, Pabelick CM, Vassallo R, Prakash YS. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin in cigarette smoke-exposed human airway smooth muscle. J Immunol. 2010;185(5):3035–3040. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1000252

31. Masuko H, Sakamoto T, Kaneko Y, et al. Lower FEV1 in non-COPD, nonasthmatic subjects: association with smoking, annual decline in FEV1, total IgE levels, and TSLP genotypes. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2011;6:181–189. doi:10.2147/COPD.S16383

32. Balantic M, Rijavec M, Flezar M, et al. A polymorphism in ORMDL3 is associated not only with asthma without rhinitis but also with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2013;23(4):256–261.

33. Zhang Y, Willis-Owen SAG, Spiegel S, Lloyd CM, Moffatt MF, Cookson WOCM; WOCM. The ORMDL3 Asthma Gene Regulates ICAM1 and Has Multiple Effects on Cellular Inflammation. J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019;199(4):478–488. doi:10.1164/rccm.201803-0438OC

34. Bouzigon E, Corda E, Aschard H, et al. Effect of 17q21 variants and smoking exposure in early-onset asthma. N Engl J Med. 2008;359(19):1985–1994. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0806604

35. Kitazawa H, Masuko H, Kanazawa J, et al. ORMDL3/GSDMB genotype as a risk factor for early-onset adult asthma is linked to total serum IgE levels but not to allergic sensitization. Allergol Int. 2021;70(1):55–60. doi:10.1016/j.alit.2020.04.009

36. Wronski S, Beinke S, Obernolte H, et al. Rhinovirus-induced human lung tissue responses mimic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma gene signatures Am. J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2021;65(5):544–554. doi:10.1165/rcmb.2020-0337OC

37. Hizawa N, Yamaguchi E, Konno S, Tanino Y, Jinushi E, Nishimura M. A functional polymorphism in the RANTES gene promoter is associated with the development of late-onset asthma. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002;166(5):686–690. doi:10.1164/rccm.200202-090OC

38. Hizawa N, Makita H, Nasuhara Y, et al. Functional single nucleotide polymorphisms of the CCL5 gene and nonemphysematous phenotype in COPD patients. Eur Respir J. 2008;32(2):372–378. doi:10.1183/09031936.00115307

39. Gauthier M, Kale SL, Oriss TB, et al. CCL5 is a potential bridge between type 1 and type 2 inflammation in asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023;152(1):94–106.e12. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2023.02.028

40. Bochkov YA, Watters K, Ashraf S, et al. Cadherin-related family member 3, a childhood asthma susceptibility gene product, mediates rhinovirus C binding and replication. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015;112(17):5485–5490. doi:10.1073/pnas.1421178112

41. Kanazawa J, Masuko H, Yatagai Y, et al. Genetic association of the functional CDHR3 genotype with early-onset adult asthma in Japanese populations. Allergol Int. 2017;66(4):563–567. doi:10.1016/j.alit.2017.02.012

42. Shigemasa R, Masuko H, Hyodo K, et al. Genetic impact of CDHR3 on the adult onset of asthma and COPD. Clin Exp Allergy. 2020;50(11):1223–1229. doi:10.1111/cea.13699

43. Lange P, Celli B, Agustí A, et al. Lung-function trajectories leading to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N Engl J Med. 2015;373(2):111–122. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1411532

44. Chang D, Hunkapiller J, Bhangale T, et al. A whole genome sequencing study of moderate to severe asthma identifies a lung function locus associated with asthma risk. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):5574. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-09447-8

45. Moll M, Sordillo JE, Ghosh AJ, et al. Polygenic risk scores identify heterogeneity in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023;152(6):1423–1432. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2023.08.002

46. Yamada H, Masuko H, Yatagai Y, et al. Role of lung function genes in the development of asthma. PLoS One. 2016;11(1):e0145832. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145832

47. Portas L, Pereira M, Shaheen SO, et al. Lung development genes and adult lung function. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020;202(6):853–865. doi:10.1164/rccm.201912-2338OC

48. Paré PD. The smoking gun: genetics and genomics reveal causal pathways for COPD. Can J Respir Crit Care Sleep Med. 2017;1(3):126–132. doi:10.1080/24745332.2017.1361203

49. Wang AL, Lahousse L, Dahlin A, et al. Novel genetic variants associated with inhaled corticosteroid treatment response in older adults with asthma. Thorax. 2023;78(5):432–441. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2021-217674

50. Chung JH, Larsen AR, Chen E, Bunz F. A PTCH1 homolog transcriptionally activated by p53 suppresses Hedgehog signaling. J Biol Chem. 2014;289(47):33020–33031. doi:10.1074/jbc.M114.597203

51. Casella G, Munk R, Kim KM, et al. Transcriptome signature of cellular senescence. Nucleic Acids Res. 2019;47(14):7294–7305. doi:10.1093/nar/gkz555

52. Morrow JD, Cho MH, Hersh CP, et al. DNA methylation profiling in human lung tissue identifies genes associated with COPD. Epigenetics. 2016;11(10):730–739. doi:10.1080/15592294.2016.1226451

53. Stolz D, Papakonstantinou E, Pascarella M, et al. Airway smooth muscle area to predict steroid responsiveness in COPD patients receiving triple therapy (HISTORIC): a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, investigator-initiated trial. Eur Respir J. 2023;62(1):2300218. doi:10.1183/13993003.00218-2023

54. Hizawa N. Clinical approaches towards asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on the heterogeneity of disease pathogenesis. Clin Exp Allergy. 2016;46(5):678–687. doi:10.1111/cea.12731

55. Hizawa N. LAMA/LABA vs ICS/LABA in the treatment of COPD in Japan based on the disease phenotypes. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2015;10:1093–1102. doi:10.2147/COPD.S72858

56. Agusti A, Bel E, Thomas M, et al. Treatable traits: toward precision medicine of chronic airway diseases. Eur Respir J. 2016;47(2):410–419. doi:10.1183/13993003.01359-2015

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58. Hyodo K, Masuko H, Oshima H, et al. Common exacerbation-prone phenotypes across asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). PLoS One. 2022;17(3):e0264397. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0264397

59. Bhatt SP, Rabe KF, Hanania NA, et al. Dupilumab for COPD with type 2 inflammation indicated by eosinophil counts. N Engl J Med. 2023;389(3):205–214. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2303951

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Published: Mon 4 Mar 2024, 6:00 AM

Doctors in the UAE are highlighting at least a 10 per cent surge in patients seeking medical attention for persistent coughs.

They said weather fluctuations commonly act as triggers for conditions such as asthma, allergies, and bronchitis, leading to an escalation in chronic cough during these changes.

Medics explained chronic cough often stems from respiratory issues like asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, bronchiectasis, and various other respiratory causes.

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Dr Jimmy Joseph, Specialist Internal Medicine and Diabetologist, Aster Clinic, International City said, “There is a surge in cases of cough. I get to see 8-10 patients daily in OPD with disturbing coughs lasting more than 10 days. We see persistent coughs greater than three weeks with nearly 20-30 per cent of daily cases. Persistent cough means when the cough lasts between three to eight weeks.”

Dr Jimmy Joseph

Dr Jimmy Joseph

Acid reflux-induced cough

Even Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition where stomach acid regularly flows back into the esophagus, irritating the lining. When this acidic fluid reaches the throat and respiratory tract, it can lead to irritation and trigger a cough.

“Causes include post viral/ post-infective cough, postnasal drip, GERD/ acid reflux, asthma, and smoking. Other causes include chronic bronchitis/COPD, Covid 19 and post-infection, ACE inhibitors (blood pressure medication), congestive heart failure, and lung cancer,” he added.

Medics stressed the substantial increase in cough cases can be attributed significantly to the changing seasons, the flu, influenza, cold weather, rain, and dust.

“Patients should approach a doctor when a cough lasts more than 7-10 days, a person loses weight rapidly, coughs out blood, has continuous fever, night sweats, chest pain, and shortness of breath. If your doctor prescribes an antibiotic, complete the full antibiotic course. Avoid OTC medications,” Joseph added.

Dr Bassam Abdelmonem, consultant Emergency Care with Prime Hospital, also reiterated that they’ve recently observed an increased number of patients with chronic coughs.

Dr Bassam Abdelmonem

Dr Bassam Abdelmonem

He said, “Around 10 per cent of patients visiting the Emergency Room (ER) present themselves with chronic cough. Weather changes are common asthma triggers; allergies and bronchitis then chronic cough will increase by these changes. Patients with chronic cough should seek medical advice when they have had a cough for more than three weeks persistently or they're losing weight for no reason. Other reasons include if one has a weakened immune system – for example, because of chemotherapy or diabetes.”

Multiple underlying causes

They emphasised determining the cause of chronic cough is crucial to effective treatment. In many cases, more than one underlying condition may cause a chronic cough.

Healthcare professionals pointed out a persistent cough sometimes goes beyond being a mere inconvenience, as it can disrupt one’s sleep and lead to feelings of exhaustion. In more severe instances, chronic coughing may induce vomiting and dizziness, and even rarely result in rib fractures.

Dr Zaid Mahdi Mohammed, Canadian Specialist Hospital Dubai, said, “The most common causes of chronic cough are postnasal drip, asthma, and acid reflux from the stomach. These three causes are responsible for up to 90 per cent of all cases of chronic cough. Honey and saltwater gargling, using a humidifier, or taking steam can be some of the effective home remedies.”

Dr Zaid Mahdi Mohammed

Dr Zaid Mahdi Mohammed

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During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US bronchiectasis exacerbation rate was significantly lower than it was during the prior year, according to study findings published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Bronchiectasis exacerbation etiology is uncertain although potential triggers include environmental exposures, eosinophilic and neutrophilic inflammation, and bacterial and viral infections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and lockdowns reduced the frequency and number of interpersonal interactions, resulting in a reduction in the circulation of respiratory viruses. Because of that, investigators sought to characterize the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frequency of bronchiectasis exacerbations among commercially insured US patients.

The investigators conducted a retrospective observational cohort study using deidentified data from Optum’s Clinformatics Data Mart database of US health insurance claims data. Diagnostic codes were used to identify patients and covered dependents with bronchiectasis who were at least 18 years of age. A comparison of the bronchiectasis exacerbation rates before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was the primary endpoint.

The main cohort, which excluded patients with asthma and COPD, included 905 patients from time-window 1 (March 2018-February 2020) and 954 patients from time-window 2 (March 2019-February 2021). The sensitivity cohort, which did not exclude patients with asthma and COPD, included 2164 patients from time-window 1 and 2141 patients from time-window 2. Nearly all patients in both cohorts (≈99.7%) had at least 2 bronchiectasis diagnosis codes at least 30 days apart.

The results of our study show that patients with bronchiectasis in the US experienced reductions in exacerbation rates during the first year of the pandemic compared with the 12-month period immediately prior.

Demographically, fewer patients in the database with bronchiectasis were from the Northern US and a more were from the Southwestern and Southeastern US. The main cohort included more women (77% in time-window 1 and 75% in time-window 2) and patients’ median (interquartile range) age was 75 (69-81) years in time-window 1 and 76 (69-82) years in time-window 2.  The sensitivity cohort demographics were similar.

During the study period, bronchiectasis treatments included oral and intravenous antibiotics; inhaled, oral, and intravenous corticosteroids; and inhaled bronchodilators.

The investigators noted that among patients in the main cohort from time-window 1, there were no statistically significant changes in prescribed treatment between the first and second years. Among patients in the main cohort from time-window 2, statistically significant reductions were noted in prescribed intravenous corticosteroids; inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids; and oral macrolides, corticosteroids, and antibiotics.

For patients in the sensitivity cohort from time-window 1, significant reductions were noted for prescribed inhaled corticosteroids only. For patients in the sensitivity cohort from time-window 2, there were statistically significant reductions in all prescribed treatment medications.

Comparing the year before the pandemic with the first year of the pandemic, the investigators found the median number of bronchiectasis exacerbations per patient before the pandemic was 1 compared with zero during the pandemic, a significant decrease (P <.01). Additionally, more patients (57%) experienced zero exacerbations during the first year of the pandemic compared with the prior year (24%) (McNemar’s chi-square=122.56; P <.01).

Study limitations include studying 2 separate 2-year windows instead of a single 3-year window, residual confounding, and bias toward a White population.

“The results of our study show that patients with bronchiectasis in the US experienced reductions in exacerbation rates during the first year of the pandemic compared with the 12-month period immediately prior,” the investigators concluded.

Disclosure: This research was supported by AstraZeneca (Cambridge, United Kingdom).

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Pierachille Santus,1 Fabiano Di Marco,2 Fulvio Braido,3 Marco Contoli,4 Angelo Guido Corsico,5 Claudio Micheletto,6 Girolamo Pelaia,7 Dejan Radovanovic,1 Paola Rogliani,8 Laura Saderi,9 Nicola Scichilone,10 Silvia Tanzi,11 Manlio Vella,11 Silvia Boarino,11 Giovanni Sotgiu,9 Paolo Solidoro12

1Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (DIBIC), Università degli Studi di Milano, Division of Respiratory Diseases, Ospedale L. Sacco, ASST Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, Milano, Italy; 2Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano Pneumology, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy; 3Department of Internal Medicine (DiMI), Respiratory Unit for Continuity of Care, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, University of Genova, Genova, Italy; 4Department of Translational Medicine, Respiratory Section, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; 5Department of Medical Sciences and Infective Diseases, Unit of Respiratory Diseases, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation and University of Pavia Medical School, Pavia, Italy; 6Cardio-Thoracic Department, Respiratory Unit, University Integrated Hospital, Verona, Italy; 7Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy; 8Department of Experimental Medicine, Unit of Respiratory Medicine, University of Rome ”Tor Vergata”, Division of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital ”Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy; 9Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy; 10Biomedical Department of Internal and Specialist Medicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 11AstraZeneca Italia, Milan, Italy; 12Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, S.C. Pneumologia, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Torino, Italy

Correspondence: Pierachille Santus, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G.B. Grassi 74, Milano, 20157, Italy, Tel +39 0239042801, Fax +39 0239042473, Email [email protected]

Objective: To describe the burden of moderate to severe exacerbations and all-cause mortality; the secondary objectives were to analyze treatment patterns and changes over follow-up.
Design: Observational, multicenter, retrospective, cohort study with a three year follow-up period.
Setting: Ten Italian academic secondary- and tertiary-care centers.
Participants: Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COPD referring to the outpatient clinics of the participating centers were retrospectively recruited.
Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: Annualized frequency of moderate and severe exacerbations stratified by exacerbation history prior to study enrollment. Patients were classified according to airflow obstruction, GOLD risk categories, and divided in 4 groups: A = no exacerbations; B = 1 moderate exacerbation; C = 1 severe exacerbation; D = ≥ 2 moderate and/or severe exacerbations. Overall all-cause mortality stratified by age, COPD category, and COPD therapy. A logistic regression model assessed the association of clinical characteristics with mortality.
Results: 1111 patients were included (73% males), of which 41.5% had a history of exacerbations. As expected, the proportion of patients experiencing ≥ 1 exacerbation during follow-up increased according to pre-defined study risk categories (B: 79%, C: 84%, D: 97.4%). Overall, by the end of follow-up, 45.5% of patients without a history of exacerbation experienced an exacerbation (31% of which severe), and 13% died. Deceased patients were significantly older, more obstructed and hyperinflated, and more frequently active smokers compared with survivors. Severe exacerbations were more frequent in patients that died (23.5%, vs 10.2%; p-value: 0.002). Chronic heart failure and ischemic heart disease were the only comorbidities associated with a higher odds ratio (OR) for death (OR: 2.2, p-value: 0.001; and OR: 1.9, p-value: 0.007). Treatment patterns were similar in patients that died and survivors.
Conclusion: Patients with a low exacerbation risk are exposed to a significant future risk of moderate/severe exacerbations. Real life data confirm the strong association between mortality and cardiovascular comorbidities in COPD.

Keywords: pulmonary disease chronic obstructive, heart failure, ischaemic heart disease, respiratory medicine, public health

Introduction

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a treatable but debilitating medical condition associated with persistent symptoms and chronic airflow obstruction.1 Despite the availability of multiple therapeutic options, COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide and has a substantial socioeconomic impact.2,3 COPD is diagnosed when patients present with respiratory symptoms and/or history of exposure to risk factors, having bronchial obstruction confirmed by spirometry.2 However, even mild obstruction hides a significant loss of small airways4 making a timely diagnosis and a prompt treatment initiation of great importance to reduce morbidity and mortality.5 Greater understanding of individual variability of COPD progression through multidimensional evaluation may help recommend tailored interventions.6–9 Patients with COPD are susceptible to exacerbations, in fact, 30%-50% of patients experience at least one exacerbation per year.9 Exacerbations are associated with disease severity and history of previous exacerbations itself is considered the most reliable predictor of future exacerbations.10 Nevertheless, patients with mild airflow obstruction and symptoms that may not yet affect activities of daily living can still experience frequent or severe exacerbations.11 Also, mild and moderate exacerbations can increase the risk of future exacerbations, accelerating lung function decline, promoting cardiovascular complications, and increasing mortality.12–14

A Canadian study showed that severe exacerbations leading to hospitalization may increase the risk of a second severe event by 3-fold and may increase mortality up to 50% after 3.6 years of follow-up after a first hospitalization.15 Moreover, after a severe exacerbation, patients are at greater risk of cardiovascular events,16,17 putting pharmacological and non-pharmacological preventive strategies the highest priority in the management of the disease.18 Pharmacological options include long-acting β2 agonists (LABA) and/or long-acting antimuscarinic agents (LAMA), in combination or without inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), that decrease airway inflammation and reduce the rate of exacerbations.19,20

The estimated prevalence of COPD in Italy ranges from 2.6%, assessed via patient-directed survey,21 to 3.01% in primary care,22 thus affecting up to 3.5 million adults and representing the sixth most prevalent chronic disease. It also has large impact on the national healthcare system: the mean annual cost per patient was €3291 in 2015, with the major cost component being hospitalizations following exacerbations.23 Considering the overall socio-economic and healthcare burden of the disease, a detailed clinical profile of COPD patients in Italy appears desirable, but unfortunately to date, real life data are lacking. The present real life study is aimed at describing the clinical and functional characteristics, treatment patterns, impact of exacerbations and comorbidities and their association with mortality in a large cohort of Italian patients with COPD.

Materials and Methods

Study Design

The DescribinG bUrden of COPD and occurrence of mortaLity in a cohort of Italian Patients (GULP) study, part of AstraZeneca’s European AvoidEX program, was an observational, multicenter, retrospective cohort study based on a multicenter database, recently approved as the Italian COPD Registry (Ethics Committee protocol n. 20–27 Sept 2023), conducted in ten Italian academic secondary- and tertiary-care centers: Division of Respiratory Diseases of L. Sacco University Hospital (Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano), Pneumology unit, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII (Università degli Studi di Milano, Bergamo), Respiratory Unit for Continuity of Care, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino (University of Genova, Genova), Respiratory Section, Department of Translational Medicine (University of Ferrara, Ferrara), Unit of Respiratory Diseases, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation (University of Pavia Medical School, Pavia), Respiratory Unit, Cardio-Thoracic Department (University Integrated Hospital, Verona), Pulmonary Unit, Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute (Università Magna Graecia, Catanzaro), Unit of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Experimental Medicine (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome), Biomedical Department of Internal and Specialist Medicine (University of Palermo, Palermo), Pulmonary Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza (University of Turin, Torino). The study was carried out according to the amended Declaration of Helsinki, ICH GCPs, GPP, and the legislation on non-interventional studies and/or observational studies (AIFA guidelines, 20/Mar/2008) and approved by the ethics committee of each participating site. All participants gave written informed consent.

Data protection and privacy legislation compliance were ensured. The dataset covered a period of 365 days prior to the index date and a minimum of 365 days post index date up to three years of follow up. The index date was the date of the study entry, i.e. the date when the patient entered the database with a record of a COPD diagnosis.

Study Objectives

The primary objective was to describe the burden of moderate to severe COPD exacerbations. Rates of moderate and severe exacerbations, as well as all-cause mortality were collected and analyzed.

The secondary objective was to describe treatment patterns at baseline and eventual treatment changes.

The pharmacological inhaled treatments considered were: LAMA or LABA monotherapies or fixed combinations thereof, ICS and a LABA and/or a LAMA or their fixed combinations.

Mortality was assessed at 3 years. Patients were stratified in two groups according to survival status and the following variables were assessed: demographic and clinical characteristics, baseline exacerbations, relationship between mortality and clinical characteristics.

Study Subjects

Electronic records of patients aged ≥40 years with an established diagnosis of COPD between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2017, and referring to the outpatient clinics of the participating centers were retrospectively reviewed. COPD diagnosis was considered if having age ≥ 40 years old, a smoking history > 20 pack years and a post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second to slow vital capacity ratio (FEV1/VC) < the lower limit of normal (LLN) criteria.11 Severity of disease was graded using three different classifications proposed by GOLD over time: airflow obstruction (GOLD stages 1 to 4);24 airflow obstruction, exacerbations and respiratory symptoms25 or exacerbations and respiratory symptoms (GOLD A, B, C, or D).26 Patients were excluded if had a current asthma diagnosis or clinically significant alternative respiratory diseases such as interstitial lung disease or bronchiectasis.

Clinical phenotypes of the enrolled patients were obtained following the multifactorial model proposed by Pistolesi et al.27 The presence of chronic cough, sputum, and sputum purulence, adventitious sounds and hyper-resonance at physical examination, chest X-ray parameters, such as increased vascular markings, bronchial wall thickening, increased lung volume and reduced lung density, together with the FEV1/FVC ratio were registered. These parameters were included in the web-based estimation model28 that allowed the assessment of the predominant clinical phenotype: airways obstructive (chronic bronchitis), parenchymal destructive (emphysema), or intermediate. At enrollment, patients were assigned to one of 6 groups based on the ongoing therapy:

  1. LAMA or LABA monotherapy
  2. Combinations of LABA + LAMA
  3. ICS without LABA or LAMA
  4. Combinations of ICS + LABA or ICS + LAMA
  5. Combinations ICS + LABA + LAMA
  6. None of the above

Patients treated with more than one pharmacological class were considered as exposed to combination therapy if they had taken the medications for at least 14 days prior to the index date.

Outcomes and Variables

According to the history of exacerbations in the year before the index date,29 patients were grouped into one of four categories:

  • Category A: no exacerbations
  • Category B: 1 moderate exacerbation (symptomatic deterioration requiring antibiotic therapy or Medium to high-dose systemic corticosteroids)
  • Category C: 1 severe exacerbation (exacerbation requiring hospitalization or emergency visits)
  • Category D: ≥2 moderate and/or severe exacerbations

Moderate exacerbations were defined as claims for courses of oral corticosteroids and/or respiratory antibiotics. Severe exacerbations were defined as need for hospitalization. If more than one of the episodes occurred within a 2-week window, a single exacerbation was considered. If a moderate and a severe exacerbations occurred concurrently within a 2-week window, the episode was considered as a severe exacerbation.

Patient and Public Involvement

Due to the study design, patients or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of our research.

Statistical Analysis

Categorical variables were summarized with absolute and relative frequencies. Continuous variables were summarized with central tendency (i.e. medians) and variability (i.e. interquartile ranges, IQR) indicators. Statistical differences were evaluated using chi-square or Mann–Whitney tests, as appropriate. COPD exacerbations are described overall and in selected strata. All-cause mortality is described overall and stratified by age (<65, 65–75, >75), COPD category, and COPD therapy. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate association of covariates at enrollment with mortality. Missing data were not imputed. All statistical analyses were performed using the statistical software STATA version 16 (StatsCorp, Texas, USA).

Results

Characteristics of the Study Population

The study included 1111 COPD patients (Table 1). Patients were predominately male (72.9%) with a median (IQR) age of 76 (70–82) years and body mass index of 26.5 (23.4–29.4) Kg/m2. Most participants were current smokers (70.1%) with a median (IQR) smoking history of 40 (30–60) pack-years. 56.8% of patients had emphysema and 14.9% had chronic bronchitis, whereas 28.4% had a mixed phenotype. Most patients had moderate to severe airflow obstruction (GOLD 2 and GOLD 3: 44.8% and 28.1%, respectively). By GOLD 2016 and GOLD 2017 criteria, the highest proportion of patients was classified as GOLD D (46.4% and 41.4%, respectively) (Table 2). Among the COPD therapies, the most widely prescribed were LABA+LAMA (21% in 2015; 25.9% in 2016, and 28.7% in 2017) and combination therapy with ICS +LABA+LAMA (42.4% in 2015; 44.5% in 2016, and 46.6% in 2017). 13.3% of patients died within three years of follow-up.

Table 1 Patients’ Characteristics at Enrollment

Table 2 Exacerbations and Treatment Patterns During the Follow-Up

Exacerbation Patterns in COPD Patients

Prior to the index date, 41.5% (461/1111) of patients had a history of exacerbations. During follow up the majority of patients experienced moderate exacerbations (37.3%, 41.4%, and 40% for each year of follow up, respectively) (Table 2), while the proportion of patients experiencing severe exacerbations was lower though stable over the follow up period (17.8%, 18.9%, 15.3%).

Among patients without prior history of exacerbations (category A), 45.5% experienced an exacerbation during the follow up, 30.6% of which were severe. The proportion of patients with an exacerbation during the follow up period increased in categories B, C and D (60.7%, 83.7%, 97.4%, respectively). Accordingly, the proportion of moderate exacerbations during follow up increased with increasing exacerbation risk from category A to D (28.4%, 60.7%, 58.2%, 90.6%, respectively). Patients that were frequent exacerbators in the year before entering the study (group D) experienced the highest median number of moderate exacerbations during follow up (4 (2–5); p<0.001 compared with other groups). 18.5% of patients with a history of one moderate exacerbation in the previous year (category B) had a severe exacerbation during the follow up. The highest proportion of severe exacerbations was observed in patients with a single severe (category C, 51%) and frequent exacerbators (category D, 34.6%) (Table 3).

Table 3 Exacerbations Over 3 Years in a, B, C and D Categories

COPD Treatments and Therapeutic Switch

A significant percentage of patients switched inhaled therapy by the end of the follow up period (Table 4). Patients on a bronchodilator monotherapy most frequently switched to a LABA/LAMA combination (38.7% of patients previously on a LABA and 22% of patients on a LAMA) (Table 4). The proportion of patients already on LABA/LAMA and on LABA/ICS that switched to a triple combination therapy (ICS/LABA/LAMA) was 14.8% and 28.2% respectively, while 81.8% of patients treated with LABA/LAMA continued the same therapy, a proportion that increased to 89% in patients treated with ICS/LABA/LAMA. ICS were withdrawn in 21.8% of cases in patients treated with ICS/LABA, while this percentage was reduced to 11.1% in patients on ICS/LABA/LAMA, the majority of which (8.7%) were switched to a LABA/LAMA combination (Table 4).

Table 4 Pharmacological Therapy for COPD, 2015 Vs 2017

Characteristics of Deceased Patients

Compared to patients alive at the end of the follow up, patients who died were significantly older, more frequently active smokers, and were significantly more obstructed and hyperinflated (Supplementary Table 1). The proportion of patients that experienced at least one exacerbation during follow up did not differ between groups, but the proportion of patients experiencing moderate exacerbations tended to be less (13.7% vs 16.8%) while severe exacerbations were significantly more frequent in patients that did not survive (23.5%, vs 10.2%; p-value: 0.002) (Supplementary Table 1). Frequent exacerbators were similar between groups (20.6% vs 23.2%). The distribution of treatment patterns at the end of follow up was not different in patients that died and those that survived, although the proportion of patients on ICS/LABA/LAMA tended to be higher in the former group (59.7% vs 47.9%). Cardiovascular comorbidities were the most frequently observed, being significantly more prevalent in deceased patients than in patients alive at the end of follow up (27.2% vs 14.2% for chronic heart failure, p-value: <0.0001; 28.1% vs 17.3% for ischemic heart disease, p-value: 0.006) (Supplementary Table 1). Chronic heart failure and ischemic heart disease were the only comorbidities/clinical characteristics associated with a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) for death (OR: 2.2, p-value: 0.001; and OR: 1.9, p-value: 0.007, respectively) (Figure 1). Mortality was significantly higher in patients with a history of one severe exacerbation (category C): 24.7% VS category A (10.7%), category B (10.4%) and category D (11.2%) (Supplementary Figure 1).

Figure 1 Association between baseline descriptors and mortality outcome during follow-up: multivariable logistic regression model. The forest plot illustrates the odds of mortality with 95% confidence intervals (CI). CI and p-values are reported on the left of y axis. Values higher than 1 favor risk of death.

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; IC, inspiratory capacity; IQR, inter quartile range; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in first second.

Discussion

The present study evaluated clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, rates of moderate and severe exacerbations, and survival of a cohort of Italian COPD patients.

The burden of exacerbations was almost constant during the study period: 45.5% of patients that had no exacerbations in the year before entering the study experienced at least one exacerbation over a 3-year follow-up period. Moreover, 79.3% of patients that already had a history of a moderate exacerbation had at least one subsequent event. This suggests that even patients perceived as low-risk should be adequately managed over time, since the absence of previous events in the majority of cases does not prevent the occurrence of future exacerbations, highlighting the importance of preventing exacerbation of any severity in order to reduce the risk of future events, and monitoring progression and preventing worsening of disease represent crucial goals, considering that moderate exacerbations correlate with a high risk of severe exacerbations and increased mortality.15 Indeed, in the present study, mortality was associated with severe exacerbations, which confirms the importance of exacerbation events in prognosis.

COPD mostly affects older adults, and the development of multimorbidity may complicate COPD management.30 People living with COPD have almost twice the risk of heart failure and myocardial infarction when compared with those without COPD belonging to the same age, sex, race, and education level.30 Even COPD patients with no history of cardiovascular disease have a higher risk of cardiovascular complications, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, following a moderate exacerbation.14 We showed that cardiovascular comorbidities are a major risk factor for death in Italian patients with COPD. In fact, among all comorbidities, only chronic heart failure and ischemic heart disease were associated with a significantly higher risk of death, independent of the severity of airflow obstruction or hyperinflation. Apparently, frequent exacerbators (group D) were exposed to a lower risk of hospitalizations compared with group C during follow up. Considered the higher mortality in group C and the proportion of patients with cardiovascular comorbidities among patients that died, it could be speculated that patients with frequent exacerbations, irrespective of the severity of exacerbations, could be exposed to a stricter pulmonary outpatient monitoring and therefore with a higher chance of being managed outside the hospital setting in case of an exacerbation. On the other hand, patients in group C might have had a higher risk of being hospitalized for an acute event, with an increased overall mortality risk secondary to the higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors.

Current treatments for COPD foresee escalation of therapy from monotherapy to dual/triple therapy based on symptoms and number and severity of exacerbations, and is usually recommended in symptomatic patients with a history of frequent and/or severe exacerbations.2 ICS/LABA/LAMA fixed-dose combinations improve respiratory function, symptoms, health status, and reduce exacerbations compared to dual therapies.31,32 Triple therapy also demonstrated a significant impact on mortality and frequency of moderate or severe exacerbations compared with LABA/LAMA.2,33,34 Our observations showed that patients treated with triple therapy remained on triple therapy throughout the study, whereas patient prescribed ICS/LABA were often stepped up to triple therapy. In spite of the recommendation for ICS treatment only in patients that experience exacerbations,2 in our real life study we observed that the prevalence of ICS prescription in clinical practice reaches 50% of the patients enrolled, suggesting the possibility of overtreatment or inadequate disease control despite maximized bronchodilation in a proportion of patients.

Our work demonstrated a high prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities in patients with COPD, confirming previous observations.35,36 Furthermore, our analysis showed that after three years of follow up a notable percentage of patients died (13.3%) and only chronic heart failure and ischemic heart disease were associated with higher odds of mortality. Patients that died during the follow up had poorer lung function (lower FEV1 and inspiratory capacity) and had more frequently a history of a severe exacerbation before entering the study, thus justifying the higher proportion treated with triple therapy, but also suggesting that triple therapy is initiated late in the clinical history pf COPD patients. These observations confirm the need for increased alertness on pharmacological optimization and careful patients’ assessment in terms of exacerbations and mortality, and on the connection between chronic cardiac and lung diseases, in order to improve both patients’ quality and quantity of life.

The present study has several limitations. First, patients were enrolled from secondary and tertiary care hospitals, thus the study might suffer from a selection bias, making results not fully generalizable in terms of severity of disease and mortality. Second, in the last years prescription patterns have changed over time due to the market introduction of triple fixed dose combination therapies, therefore switching patterns might have evolved differently than described. Third, the cause of death was not registered therefore any consideration about the possible causative role of cardiovascular comorbidities or exacerbations in the risk of death could not be drawn. Finally, adverse drug effects and major cardiovascular events were not studied and the cause of therapeutic switch was not assessed. Indeed, the study has strengths, mainly represented by the real life setting, the multicenter study and by the length of the follow up period.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study provided for the first time a detailed clinical overview of the exacerbation burden in patients with COPD in Italy, highlighting from real life data that even patients with a low exacerbation risk are exposed to a significant future risk of moderate to severe exacerbations. The study also confirmed the existence of a strong association between mortality and cardiovascular comorbidities in COPD, in particular with heart failure and ischemic heart disease. Despite the overall exacerbation and mortality burden, a lower than expected number of patients were treated with triple therapy with ICS//LABA/LAMA. The study should represent a starting point and gives the rationale for continuing the implementation of large shared national databases as a source of patients’ characterization and as monitoring tools for preventive pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies.

Data Sharing Statement

The anonymized dataset will be available upon reasonable request by the Corresponding Author.

Acknowledgments

Medical writing and editorial assistance were provided by Maria Vittoria Verga Falzacappa, PhD (EDRA S.p.A., Milan, Italy) and funded by AstraZeneca.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Funding

This work was supported by Astra Zeneca.

Disclosure

PSa has received lectures fees at national and international meetings and consultancy fees from Boehringer Ingelgheim, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Astra Zeneca, Berlin-Chemie, Edmondpharma, Guidotti, Neopharmed, Novartis, Valeas, GlaxoSmithKline, Alfasigma, Zambon and Sanofi; research grants from Air Liquide, Almirall, Boehringer Ingelgheim, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Pfizer, Edmondpharma. FB declares participation in a company sponsored speaker’s bureau: Astra Zeneca, GSK, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelgheim, Chiesi, MSD, Menarini, Malesci, Guidotti, Sanofi and support for research: Chiesi, Vitalair. M.C. declares grants for research, personal fees and non-financial support from Chiesi and GlaxoSmithKline, personal fees and non-financial support from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Alk-Abello, and Novartis, and research grants from the University of Ferrara, Italy. FDM has received lectures fees at national and international meetings and consultancy fees from Almirall, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Dompe, Guidotti/Malesci, GlaxoSmithKline, Menarini, Novartis, and Zambon; CM received fees as a speaker from Astrazeneca, GSK, Sanofi, Chiesi, Menarini, Guidotti, Novartis, Zambon, Boehringer. GP has received lecture fees and consultancy fees from Alfasigma, AstraZeneca, Chiesi, GlaxoSmithKline, Guidotti-Malesci, Menarini, Mundipharma, Novartis, Sanofi, Zambon. DR has received fees for lectures from Astra Zeneca, Berlin Chemie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Glaxo Smith Kline, Menarini; fees for consultancy from Damor Farmaceutic and honoraria for consulting and participation to advisory boards from Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim. PR participated as a lecturer and advisor in scientific meetings and courses under the sponsorship of Almirall, AstraZeneca, Biofutura, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi Farmaceutici, GlaxoSmithKline, Menarini Group, MSD, Mundipharma, Novartis and Recipharm. Her department was funded by Almirall, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Novartis, and Zambon. NS has received lectures fees at national and international meetings and consultancy fees from Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi Farmaceutici, GlaxoSmithKline; research grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Sanofi. SB, ST, MV are AstraZeneca employees. PSo has participated as a lecturer, speaker, and advisor in scientific meetings and courses under the sponsorship from Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi Farmaceutici, Astra Zeneca, Guidotti-Malesci, Novartis, Valeas, GlaxoSmithKline, Menarini, ABC Farmaceutici, Almirall, Dompè and Biotest. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

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Participant characteristics

A total of 271 participants (mean ± SD, 61 years ± 12) were assessed, and 113 participants were women (41.7%). The baseline and clinical characteristics are summarized in Table 1. Of the 271 participants, the median body mass index was 21.8 kg/m2 (IQR, 17.1–29.1), and 80 (29.5%) were smokers. 148 participants (54.6%) had different types of comorbidities and common comorbidities included hypertension (82 participants, 30.3%), type II diabetes mellitus (80 participants, 29.5%), ischemic heart disease (61 participants, 22.5%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (18 participants, 6.6%) and previous venous thromboembolism (10 participants, 3.7%). The median hospital stay was 12 days (IQR, 4–20 days), with 68 participants (25.1%) requiring the highest level of ventilatory support in the form of invasive ventilation or noninvasive positive pressure ventilation. Participants are treated with medications mainly including paxlovid (183 participants, 67.5%), azvudine (60 participants, 22.1%) and glucocorticoid (69 participants, 25.5%).

Table 1 Comparison of baseline and clinical characteristics between participants with normal and abnormal CT in the lung at 6-month follow-up.

Compared of baseline and clinical characteristics, age (mean, 58 years ± 11 vs 65 years ± 12, P < 0.001), smoker (42 participants [24.3%] vs 38 participants [38.8%], P = 0.04), heart rate (mean, 83 times per minute ± 14 vs 92 times per minute ± 16, P = 0.02), respiratory rate (mean, 20 times per minute ± 7 vs 24 times per minute ± 9, P = 0.03), oxygen saturation on room air (SaO2, 96%, IQR, 88–99% vs 92%, IQR, 80–98%, P = 0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 10 participants [5.8%] vs 8 participants [8.1%], P = 0.02), length of hospital stay (11 days, IQR, 4–14 days vs 16 days, IQR, 10–27 days, P < 0.001), invasive ventilation (2 participants [1.6%] vs 15 participants [15.3%], P < 0.001) and using paxlovid (147 participants [85.0%] vs 36 participants [36.7%], P < 0.001) demonstrated a statistically significant difference between participants with normal and abnormal chest CT at 6-month follow-up.

Comparison of CT findings

All participants underwent a 6-month follow-up chest CT at a median of 177 days (IQR, 155–203 days) after hospital admission and pulmonary residual abnormalities were found in 98 participants (36.2%). Compared to the initial CT (Table 2), participants with GGO decreased from 270 (99.6%) to 66 (24.4%) and consolidation decreased from 111 (41.0%) to 20 (7.4%) (Fig. 2). Meanwhile, participants with reticulation increased from 19 (7.0%) to 57 (21.0%). The ARDS pattern in three participants (1.1%) and crazy paving pattern in two participants (0.7%) at initial CT had disappeared at 6-month follow-up CT. Participants with organizing pneumonia pattern increased from four (1.5%) to seven (2.6%). Among CT evidence of fibrotic-like changes, participants with linear atelectasis increased from four (1.5%) to seven (2.6%) (Fig. 3), participants with bronchiectasis and parenchymal bands increased from six (2.2%) to 31 (11.4%) (Fig. 4) and 14 (5.2%) (Fig. 5) respectively. There was no change in the three participants (1.1%) with honeycombing. In summary, 39 participants (14.4%) demonstrated new suspicious fibrotic-like changes at 6-month follow-up CT.

Table 2 Comparison of CT Findings in the lung between initial and 6-month follow-up CT.
Figure 2
figure 2

Serial chest CT scans in a 45-year-old man with severe coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia. (A, B) Initial CT scans obtained on day 5 after the onset of symptoms showed extensive ground-glass opacities (GGO) with some areas of consolidation bilaterally. (C, D) CT scans obtained on day 9 showed extensive consolidation with few GGOs bilaterally. (E, F) CT scans obtained on day 179 showed almost absorption of the abnormalities with mild GGOs and interstitial thickening remaining.

Figure 3
figure 3

Serial chest CT scans in a 61-year-old man with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia. (A, B) Initial CT scans obtained on day 4 after the onset of symptoms showed multiple ground-glass opacities and consolidation bilaterally. (C) CT scans obtained on day 22 showed moderate consolidation and reticulation in the lower lung lobes bilaterally. (D) CT scans obtained on day 191 showed obviously absorption of the abnormalities with subtle reticulation and linear atelectasis (arrow) in the lower lung lobes.

Figure 4
figure 4

Serial chest CT scans in a 60-year-old man with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia. (A, B) Initial CT scans obtained on day 8 after the onset of symptoms showed multiple ground-glass opacities and interstitial thickening bilaterally. (C, D) CT scans obtained on day 180 showed traction bronchiectasis (white arrow) and interlobar pleural traction (black arrow) in the upper lobe of right lung.

Figure 5
figure 5

Serial chest CT scans in a 54-year-old man with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia. (A) Initial CT scans obtained on day 9 after the onset of symptoms showed multiple ground-glass opacities and interstitial thickening bilaterally. (B)CT scans obtained on day 169 showed traction bronchiectasis (white arrow) and parenchymal bands (black arrow) in the lower lung lobes.

Comparison of chest CT scores

In the Chest CT scores (Table 3), a significantly decrease was found for any abnormality (P < 0.001), GGO (P < 0.001), and consolidation (P < 0.001), whereas a significantly increase for fibrotic-like abnormalities (P < 0.001) compared with the initial CT scans. Meanwhile, reticulation showed insignificantly change between two CT scans (P = 0.33).

Table 3 Comparison of Chest CT Scores between initial and 6-month Follow-up CT.

Factors associated with pulmonary residual abnormalities

In the univariate analysis, paxlovid (odd ratio [OR]: 0.08; 95% CI 0.03, 0.21; P < 0.001), invasive ventilation (OR 9.3; 95% CI 2.8, 29; P < 0.001), age > 60 years (OR 6.5; 95% CI 2.7, 17; P < 0.001), SaO2 less than 93% at admission (OR 4.5; 95% CI 1.4, 14; P < 0.001), hospitalization more than 15 days (OR 3.8; 95% CI 1.3, 11; P = 0.002), and respiratory rate more than 23 times per minute at admission (OR 3.3; 95% CI 1.3, 8.7; P = 0.004) were associated with pulmonary residual abnormalities at 6-month follow-up CT. In the multivariate analysis, the predictive factors were invasive ventilation (OR 13.6; 95% CI 1.9, 45; P < 0.001), age > 60 years (OR 9.1; 95% CI 2.3, 39; P = 0.01), paxlovid (OR 0.11; 95% CI 0.04, 0.48; P = 0.01), hospitalization more than 15 days (OR 6.1; 95% CI 1.2, 26; P = 0.002), heart rate greater than 100 times per minute (OR 5.9; 95% CI 1.1, 27; P = 0.03), and SaO2 less than 93% at admission (OR 5.6; 95% CI 1.4, 13; P = 0.02) (Table 4).

Table 4 Univariable and multivariable analysis of pulmonary residual abnormalities at 6-month follow-up CT.

Factors associated with pulmonary fibrotic-like changes

In the univariate analysis, paxlovid (OR 0.11; 95% CI 0.04, 0.32; P < 0.001), invasive ventilation (OR 8.8; 95% CI 2.1, 26; P < 0.001), smoker (OR 7.4; 95% CI 3.0, 16; P < 0.001), SaO2 less than 93% at admission (OR 4.5; 95% CI 1.2, 16; P = 0.002) and age > 60 years (OR 4.2; 95% CI 1.3, 11; P = 0.002) were associated with pulmonary fibrotic-like changes at 6-month follow-up CT. In the multivariate analysis, the predictive factors were invasive ventilation (OR 10.3; 95% CI 2.9, 33; P = 0.002), smoker (OR 9.9; 95% CI 2.4, 31; P = 0.01), paxlovid (OR 0.1; 95% CI 0.03, 0.48; P = 0.01), SaO2 less than 93% at admission (OR 7.8; 95% CI 1.5, 19; P = 0.02), age > 60 years (OR 6.1; 95% CI 2.3, 22; P = 0.03) and heart rate greater than 100 times per minute (OR 4.9; 95% CI 1.7, 11; P = 0.04) (Table 5).

Table 5 Univariable and multivariable analysis of pulmonary fibrotic-like changes at 6-month follow-up CT.

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How We Can Help

Samaritan’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation programs are designed to help people who have been diagnosed with asthma, COPD (chronic bronchitis, emphysema), bronchiectasis, fibrotic or interstitial diseases of the lung. Our staff of pulmonary rehab experts work together to develop specialized programs for you that combine exercise and education. Patients can attend up to 36 one-hour sessions per year, depending on their needs.

Education is a critical component to the Pulmonary Rehabilitation program. Patients will learn about:

  • Managing your symptoms and decreasing your problems with breathing.
  • Improving your physical condition and other factors impacting lung health.
  • Nutrition and weight loss.
  • Different lung diseases and the anatomy and physiology of the lungs.

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Unfolding the Potential of Breathomics Research

The recent advancements in breathomics research amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have unveiled a treasure trove of clinical data, which is poised to revolutionize the way we understand and diagnose diseases. This clinical breathomics dataset has been compiled from a variety of samples, including those from individuals with asthma, bronchiectasis, and COPD. The dataset reveals the identification of 104 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a significant breakthrough in the realm of breath studies.

Adherence to Regulatory Compliances

The study, which led to the creation of this dataset, employed the use of the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) control status. It strictly adhered to relevant guidelines and regulations, ensuring the credibility and reliability of the data gathered.

Collection and Analysis Techniques

The collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples from healthy individuals was conducted using the RTube device. This method was chosen for its efficacy and reliability in collecting uncontaminated breath samples. To overcome the challenge of low concentrations of volatile and nonvolatile compounds in these samples, preconcentration techniques such as solid-phase microextraction (SPME) were employed.

The analysis of these samples was performed using a LECO Pegasus 4D time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GC-TOF-MS), and the data was processed using LECO ChromaTOF software. This high-tech approach allowed for the identification and quantification of the 104 VOCs present in the breath samples.

Implications for Asthma, Bronchiectasis, and COPD Research

The dataset provides a comprehensive GC-MS analysis conducted on 121 patient samples. It catalogs volatile organic compounds from the breath of individuals with these diseases, aiming to enhance diagnostic and monitoring capacities. The dataset includes 104 VOCs from clinical samples of asthma, bronchiectasis, and COPD and serves as a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians alike.

Application in COVID-19 Research

Interestingly, the dataset isn’t limited to these chronic respiratory diseases. It also includes breath samples collected from COVID-19 patients, providing valuable insights into the VOCs present in the breath of individuals affected by the disease. This data can potentially be used for early detection and monitoring of COVID-19, marking a significant stride in our fight against the pandemic.

Conclusion: The Future of Breathomics

The creation of this dataset marks a seminal phase in community sharing for breathomics research. It serves as a credible validation tool for ongoing and future breath studies, opening up countless possibilities for disease diagnosis and monitoring. As we continue to explore the potential of breathomics, we inch closer to a new era of non-invasive, quick, and reliable diagnostic techniques.

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THE King’s cancer diagnosis serves to highlight the benefit of early detection.

Symptoms can alert you to changes in the body, but it’s important to take note of what is normal for you.

Dr Zoe Williams helps a reader with shortness of breath after having an angioplasty

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Dr Zoe Williams helps a reader with shortness of breath after having an angioplasty
The King’s cancer diagnosis serves to highlight the benefit of early detection.

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The King’s cancer diagnosis serves to highlight the benefit of early detection.Credit: Getty

What are your typical toilet habits? How much do you weigh? Do you know what your moles look like?

Knowing your “normal” is also helpful for spotting any clues when doing at-home health checks, which I urge all readers to do.

Once a month, women should check their breasts (and armpits and collarbone area) for changes, while men should check their testicles.

Always take up NHS invitations for mammograms, smear tests and abdominal aortic aneurysm screening.

And do your bowel cancer test when the kit comes through the letterbox – it could save your life.

If you’re aged between 40 and 74 and have no pre-existing conditions, you will be invited for an NHS Health Check every five years to assess your risk of serious health conditions.

Here’s what readers have been asking me this week . . . 

Q) I RECENTLY had an angioplasty as I had angina pain and a history of heart disease.

My arteries are now clear. However, I am still getting quite bad shortness of breath on lifting.

An endoscopy was clear and so was a chest X-ray. It’s not asthma either.

Diabetes symptoms and the signs of all types of diabetes

But I regularly get pain in the ­sternum. It feels like something pressing around my ribs.

 It has stopped me working, walking and doing anything physical. I’m 61 and diabetic. The symptoms started eight weeks ago.

A reader suffering from angina pain with a history of heart disease has contacted Dr Zoe with his concerns

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A reader suffering from angina pain with a history of heart disease has contacted Dr Zoe with his concernsCredit: Getty

A) Your symptoms sound severe if you can’t work or walk, so definitely need to be looked into further.

Angioplasty is a procedure to open the inner tube of the arteries so oxygenated blood can flow properly to supply the heart muscle.

The heart pumps blood around the body without ever having a break, which is quite amazing really.

Unfortunately, it only takes one of those arteries to be significantly blocked to cause angina symptoms, which can cause pain and/or shortness of breath.

There are lots of heart conditions that can cause breathlessness and/or pain, including myocarditis, pericarditis, auto­immune conditions such as sarcoidosis and heart failure.

Anaemia, or other types of chronic disease, can also cause breathlessness.

I expect you are due to be followed up by the cardiology team, but I wouldn’t wait for your appointment.

You could contact your cardiologist’s secretary to see if the team think they should see you sooner.

Failing that, ask your GP to check you over and get some blood tests and an ECG in addition to the chest X-ray you already had.

Frozen shoulder’s got me screaming

Q) I’VE just been diagnosed with a frozen shoulder, but the pain is mainly in my bicep area, not so much in my shoulder. What causes it? Would a cortisone injection help? The pain is so bad I scream.

A) Adhesive capsulitis – or ­frozen shoulder – is a ­condition where the shoulder becomes painful and stiff, often for no particular reason.

It affects about three in 100 adults at some stage, but usually between ages 40 and 60 and is more common in women. People with diabetes are slightly more likely to get it.

The range of movement can significantly reduce, often so much that the shoulder can become completely “frozen”.

 It most often affects only one shoulder, but it can affect both. Without treatment, symptoms usually go away naturally but that can take up to three years.

The pain is often over the front of the shoulder, around the bicep, or down the outside of the arm, so this fits your symptoms.

Another cause of pain is biceps tendonitis, or an inflamed biceps tendon. It can happen in isolation or with a frozen shoulder so I would suggest an ultrasound to see exactly where the problem is.

The good news is that a ­steroid injection can treat both conditions, but it must go into the site where the problem is, so have an ultrasound first.

Meanwhile, try ice packs and anti-inflammatory medication. You can do rehabilitation exercises, but your GP or physio can advise on how often and when to start.

TIP OF THE WEEK

OMEGA-3 fatty acids are important for the functioning of your body, particularly your brain and eyes, and may be able to reduce the risk of heart disease, blood clots, dementia and death.

But your body can’t produce the amount of omega-3s you need to survive, therefore you need to eat it.

 Include salmon, sardines, mackerel, walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds in your weekly diet.

Q) IN the past six months I’ve lost a lot of weight, and I have painful joints, breathlessness and digestive problems.

I have bronchiectasis and one cystic fibrosis gene. I have been told I am a CF carrier. I went to my GP, who thought I might have diabetes, but my blood tests didn’t show anything.

However, I’ve never had a glucose diabetes test for people with the CF gene. Do you think I should ask the doctor for one?

Another reader is concerned about  painful joints, breathlessness and digestive problems

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Another reader is concerned about painful joints, breathlessness and digestive problemsCredit: Getty

 A) Your case is fairly complex and it is important to get to the bottom of it, especially as your symptoms are progressively getting worse.

You’ve been diagnosed with bronchiectasis, which is a condition where the airways of the lungs become widened. This can lead to excess mucus in the lungs, leaving them more vulnerable to infection. It’s a condition that often affects people who have CF, but it can occur for other ­reasons too.

If you have bronchiectasis that is not well managed, you should be referred to a respiratory specialist doctor. It’s also important for your GP to examine you and do a full set of investigations looking for other causes of this rapid unintentional weight loss and your other symptoms.

These should include a full set of bloods and a chest X-ray as a minimum, and potentially other tests depending on your symptoms and examination findings.

For a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, you need two mutated copies of a particular gene. If you have one normal copy and one mutated copy – as in your case – then you’re a carrier. You do not have CF, but could pass it to your children if their other biological parent is also a carrier. Most CF carriers don’t have symptoms, but some can have symptoms associated with CF.

New research suggests carriers have a higher risk for CF-related issues such as bronchiectasis. The 2020 study from the US compared 19,802 CF carriers to 99,010 people who had no mutations at all.

They assessed the risk of getting 59 health conditions. CF carriers were found to have a higher risk for 57 of the 59.

You and your GP need to be aware that you could be vulnerable to other conditions. It’s new research that will not be well known, so it may help to share the study with your GP and then discuss next steps.

One of the more likely conditions in a CF carrier is diabetes, so an oral glucose ­tolerance test may be a good idea.

Do let me know how you get on.



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Image courtesy Lung Foundation Australia

The burden of bronchiectasis among Indigenous adults in the Top End of the Northern Territory is significant, but more research is needed to develop targeted strategies and close the health gap.

New research published in the Medical Journal of Australia has investigated the burden of bronchiectasis among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in the Northern Territory's Top End for the first time.

Bronchiectasis remains under-recognised and undertreated in Australia, despite being the third most common chronic respiratory disorder, and is most commonly found in Indigenous populations in remote northern communities, with a devastating impact on life expectancy.

"Despite reports since 1958 about the bronchiectasis burden among indigenous peoples, the low number of subsequent studies mean that our knowledge of bronchiectasis in adult indigenous people remains limited," says Darwin clinician and Flinders Professor Subash Heraganahally (pictured).

Dr Heraganahally is a respiratory and sleep medicine specialist with the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University, Darwin.

Bronchiectasis is a lung disease that occurs when the walls of the breathing tubes or airways widen due to chronic inflammation and/or infection. This results in irreversible damage to the lungs, which allows mucus to pool in the damaged airways.

"Understanding the epidemiology of bronchiectasis in Indigenous Australia - crucial for accurate diagnosis, effective management, and population-level strategies for improving health outcomes -requires estimating its prevalence and its impact on morbidity in adults, particularly in the Top End of the Northern Territory, where the burden of respiratory disease is high."

Image: courtesy Pixabay

The researchers analysed demographic data between 2011 and 2020 for Indigenous people with bronchiectasis in the four Top End Health Service health districts - Darwin Urban, Darwin Rural, East Arnhem and Katherine - as well as any individual communities with ten or more active bronchiectasis cases.

In that period, 459 people were diagnosed with bronchiectasis via chest computed tomography (CT) scan, with an estimated prevalence of 19.4 bronchiectasis cases per 1000 residents.

The prevalence of the condition increased with age, peaking at 45.7 per 1000 people at age 50-59 years.

By 30 April 2023, 195 people with bronchiectasis recorded in the study had died (42.5%), at a median age of 60.3 years.

The researchers noted significant variations in the characteristics of bronchiectasis demographics in each health district.

At least 50% of people with bronchiectasis were women in all health districts, except in the East Arnhem health district where women accounted for 42% of cases.

The median age of people with bronchiectasis was higher in the Darwin Urban district (56.9 years) than in the other three health districts (each under 50 years).

The mean annual mortality rate was also higher in the Darwin Urban district, and the median age at death was ten years higher that the other health districts.

"Another interesting feature was the variation in bronchiectasis prevalence between Top End Health Service districts and between communities," Dr Heraganahally adds.

"The prevalence may actually be higher in certain health districts, but the differences could be related to social factors such as access to specialist health care, including access to chest CT for confirming the diagnosis of bronchiectasis."

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

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Postnasal drip, asthma, and acid reflux from the stomach are responsible for about 90 percent of all cases of chronic cough.

Postnasal Drip Postnasal drip can develop in people with allergies, colds, rhinitis, and sinusitis, says Taliercio. When secretions from the nose drip or flow into the back of the throat from the nose, the resulting irritation can trigger cough.

Signs of postnasal drip include a stuffy or runny nose, a sensation of liquid in the back of the throat, and a feeling of needing to clear the throat frequently. About 20 percent of people have silent postnasal drip, which causes no symptoms other than a cough.

Respiratory viral infections, including long COVID, and bacterial sinus infections can also cause postnasal drip and chronic cough.

Asthma Asthma is a frequent cause of chronic cough in adults and is the leading cause in children, says Taliercio. “So traditionally, we think of patients with asthma as experiencing episodic breathlessness, chest tightness, wheezing, and cough, with the symptoms classically varying over time and intensity,” she says.

Some people have something called cough variant asthma, in which cough is the only symptom of asthma, says Taliercio. “Most of the time, the cough isn’t productive, but not always,” she says.

Asthma-related cough may come on seasonally, may follow an upper respiratory infection like COVID-19, or may get worse due to cold and dry air, exercise, fumes, or fragrances.

Acid Reflux Gastroesophageal reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease occur when acid from the stomach flows back into the esophagus, the tube connecting the stomach and the throat, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Many people with chronic cough due to acid reflux have heartburn or a sour taste in the mouth.

Eosinophilic Bronchitis Less common and more curable than asthma, nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis is a special type of inflammation in the airways that can cause a chronic cough. This happens in people who don’t have evidence of asthma but whose phlegm or airways contain cells called eosinophils (white blood cells produced by the immune system in response to different factors including allergic reactions).

Certain Blood Pressure Medications Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which are commonly used to treat high blood pressure, can cause a chronic cough (usually dry), says Dowdall.

Chronic Bronchitis Chronic bronchitis usually occurs with current or past smokers and is sometimes called smoker’s cough. Typically, the cough is worse in the morning, when the body is trying to clear the airways of mucus and irritants that have built up overnight.

Lung Cancer Very few people with a chronic cough have lung cancer, but it can happen, and the risk is higher in current and past smokers. Possible signs are coughing up blood, a change in the cough, or continuing to cough more than one month after quitting smoking, according to the American Cancer Society.

Bronchiectasis People who have had severe or recurrent respiratory infections can have damage to their airway walls and permanent dilation of the bronchi (the tubes that carry air from the windpipe to the lungs), called bronchiectasis. This decreases the ability to clear secretions and can cause a chronic cough.

Habit, or Nervous Cough This is a habitual cough that continues even though the underlying cause appears to be gone. But it’s important to keep in mind that the cause of a cough can change over time, says Taliercio. “Even though your cough was due to one thing a couple of years ago, there could be another underlying reason for it now,” she says.

Cough Hypersensitivity Syndrome With this condition, excessive coughing is caused by relatively mild stimuli or irritants, says Taliercio. “This is like a nerve-induced cough; it’s not very common, but it’s more likely to occur in people who cough for years or even decades,” she says.

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Targeted lung health strategies needed in the Top End
Estimated total number of Indigenous adults in the Top End, 2011: 23 722, including 12 322 women (52%). Credit: Medical Journal of Australia (2024). DOI: 10.5694/mja2.52204

New research published in the Medical Journal of Australia has investigated the burden of the chronic lung disease bronchiectasis among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in the Northern Territory Top End for the first time.

Bronchiectasis is a lung condition where the walls of the airways widen and become thickened from inflammation and infection.

Bronchiectasis is Australia's third most common chronic respiratory disorder, and is most commonly found in Indigenous populations in remote northern communities, with a devastating impact on life expectancy

The researchers analyzed demographic data between 2011 and 2020 for Indigenous people with bronchiectasis in the four Top End Health Service health districts—Darwin Urban, Darwin Rural, East Arnhem, and Katherine—as well as any individual communities with ten or more active bronchiectasis cases.

In that period, 459 people were diagnosed with bronchiectasis via chest computed tomography (CT) scan, with an estimated prevalence of 19.4 bronchiectasis cases per 1,000 residents.

The prevalence of the condition increased with age, peaking at 45.7 per 1,000 people aged 50–59 years.

By 30 April 2023, 195 people with bronchiectasis recorded in the study had died (42.5%), at a median age of 60.3 years.

The researchers say targeted efforts are needed, calling for further investigation into the social, demographic and clinical determinants that contribute to high prevalence of bronchiectasis among Indigenous Australians in order to develop effective interventions and improve respiratory health outcomes.

"Targeted efforts are needed to overcome intrinsic and extrinsic barriers that impair access to specialist health care, and may account for marked differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in bronchiectasis prevalence," writes Dr. Subash Heraganahally and colleagues.

Professor Heraganahally is a respiratory and sleep medicine specialist with the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University, Darwin.

"Moreover, improving cultural sensitivity, education and awareness, early detection and diagnosis, treatment adherence, multidisciplinary care, preventing infections, smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation, research and data collection, telehealth and telemedicine, and community involvement are all critical," Dr. Heraganahally and colleagues wrote.

"Bronchiectasis among Indigenous adults in the Top End of the Northern Territory, 2011–2020: a retrospective cohort study" has been published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

More information:
Claire Gibbs et al, Bronchiectasis among Indigenous adults in the Top End of the Northern Territory, 2011–2020: a retrospective cohort study, Medical Journal of Australia (2024). DOI: 10.5694/mja2.52204

Provided by
Medical Journal of Australia (MJA)

Citation:
Targeted lung health strategies needed in the Top End in Australia (2024, February 5)
retrieved 5 February 2024
from medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-lung-health-strategies-australia.html

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part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.



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The burden of bronchiectasis among Indigenous adults in the Top End of the Northern Territory is significant, but more research is needed to develop targeted strategies and close the health gap.

New research published in the Medical Journal of Australia has investigated the burden of bronchiectasis among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in the Northern Territory Top End for the first time.

Bronchiectasis remains under-recognised and undertreated in Australia, despite being the third most common chronic respiratory disorder, and is most commonly found in Indigenous populations in remote northern communities, with a devastating impact on life expectancy.

“Despite reports since 1958 about the bronchiectasis burden among indigenous peoples, the low number of subsequent studies mean that our knowledge of bronchiectasis in adult indigenous people remains limited,” Dr Subash Heraganahally and colleagues wrote.

Dr Heraganahally is a respiratory and sleep medicine specialist with the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University, Darwin.

“Understanding the epidemiology of bronchiectasis in Indigenous Australia — crucial for accurate diagnosis, effective management, and population-level strategies for improving health outcomes —requires estimating its prevalence and its impact on morbidity in adults, particularly in the Top End of the Northern Territory, where the burden of respiratory disease is high.”

Targeted lung health strategies needed in the Top End - Featured Image
459 people were diagnosed with bronchiectasis via CT scan during the study period (Egor_Kulinich / Shutterstock).

The study

The researchers analysed demographic data between 2011 and 2020 for Indigenous people with bronchiectasis in the four Top End Health Service health districts — Darwin Urban, Darwin Rural, East Arnhem, and Katherine — as well as any individual communities with ten or more active bronchiectasis cases.

In that period, 459 people were diagnosed with bronchiectasis via chest computed tomography (CT) scan, with an estimated prevalence of 19.4 bronchiectasis cases per 1000 residents.

The prevalence of the condition increased with age, peaking at 45.7 per 1000 people at age 50–59 years.

By 30 April 2023, 195 people with bronchiectasis recorded in the study had died (42.5%), at a median age of 60.3 years.

Variations by district

The researchers noted significant variations in the characteristics of bronchiectasis demographics in each health district.

At least 50% of people with bronchiectasis were women in all health districts, except in the East Arnhem health district where women accounted for 42% of cases.

The median age of people with bronchiectasis was higher in the Darwin Urban district (56.9 years) than in the other three health districts (each under 50 years).

The mean annual mortality rate was also higher in the Darwin Urban district, and the median age at death was ten years higher that the other health districts.

“Another interesting feature was the variation in bronchiectasis prevalence between Top End Health Service districts and between communities,” Dr Heraganahally and colleges wrote.

“The prevalence may actually be higher in certain health districts, but the differences could be related to social factors such as access to specialist health care, including access to chest CT for confirming the diagnosis of bronchiectasis.”

Targeted efforts needed

The researchers call for further investigation into the social, demographic and clinical determinants that contribute to high prevalence of bronchiectasis among Indigenous Australians in order to develop effective interventions and improve respiratory health outcomes.

In particular, they note the need to explore the variations in prevalence found across the various districts, improving the transition from child to adult respiratory care services, and screening for early detection, all with a focus on culturally appropriate care.

“Targeted efforts are needed to overcome intrinsic and extrinsic barriers that impair access to specialist health care, and may account for marked differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in bronchiectasis prevalence,” Dr Heraganahally and colleagues wrote.

“Moreover, improving cultural sensitivity, education and awareness, early detection and diagnosis, treatment adherence, multidisciplinary care, preventing infections, smoking cessation, pulmonary rehabilitation, research and data collection, telehealth and telemedicine, and community involvement are all critical.”

“Our study provides an initial insight into the heavy burden of bronchiectasis in our region, and our findings indicate the importance of strategies for improving health management and outcomes across the life course of Indigenous people, with the ultimate goal of closing the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.”

Read the research in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Subscribe to the free InSight+ weekly newsletter here. It is available to all readers, not just registered medical practitioners.

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Gunn is a member of The Warblers, a Lothians-based group of people with lung conditions including asthma, bronchiectasis and long Covid, who get together once a week to keep their lungs healthy by singing.

She said: “I was told I had COPD in 2015 and in 2016 I was going to pulmonary rehab where they encourage you to take more exercise, and you learn that sitting doing nothing is bad for your lung health. It was there someone told me about The Warblers.”

The group was established in 2016 for people with poor lung health. Each week, sessions are held in Musselburgh and Newton Grange.

READ MORE: Why this artist has opened a gallery in the bottom of a high rise block in Maryhill

Dr James Robertson runs the Musselburgh sessions, which, he says, can be a ‘safe space’ for people coming to terms with the damage long covid has left in their lung tissue.

He said: “Lung disease is now the third most common cause of death in the UK and costs the NHS more than £9bn per year. And we find that lung function reduces from more than 1% a year from the age of 40.

“Research is being carried out on the benefits of singing on long covid,” he said.  “We do have members who have long covid and who are finding the sessions helpful. People feel the sessions to be a safe space, we’re not judging them.”

Dr Robertson taught music therapy at Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh and practised in a range of settings, working in forensic psychiatry, autism, palliative care and with children who have additional support needs.

He has led The Warblers, with colleague Esther Chuang, for a year, having discovered the science around the benefits of singing on lung health via The Musical Breath organisation which also uses singing to help people suffering from breathlessness.

The Herald: Sessions are held in Musselburgh and Newton GrangeSessions are held in Musselburgh and Newton Grange (Image: Jon Davey Photography)

He said: “Phoene Cave, who runs Musical Breath, has pioneered a lot of work in the UK around singing for lung health and helps people understand the physicality of the voice and the anatomy, as well as ways of using singing to improve people’s health.

“The training that was offered for it inspired me, as it brought together my two interests - choirs and health and well being.”

For Gunn, the benefits are manifold.

“I didn’t get the right medication at first, and people would have to slow down for me when I was out,” she said. “Now I‘m on the right medication and I’m doing my breathing, and the singing is helping too.

“I was quite new to the condition when I joined The Warblers, and meeting other people who had the same condition, finding out how they coped, really helped me. I learned a lot in the first few sessions. It definitely helps both mentally and physically.

READ MORE: Scottish farming duo vow to revolutionise the industry

“We kept going through Covid, and did the session online, because some of us were vulnerable. When we get together, nobody minds when you start coughing, nobody's looking at you thinking you have Covid. It’s relaxed, because people understand.”

In 2022, the charity Asthma + Lung UK reported that lung conditions kill more people in Britain annually than anywhere else in western Europe. In 2023, the Office for National Statistics reported almost 2 million cases of long covid in the UK, with Asthma + Lung UK claiming 38% suffer from breathlessness.

The science around the effects of singing on long covid patients is still in its early days. Last year, a project by the Imperial College London and English National Orchestra, worked with physiotherapists and speech and language teams on a six week programme aiming to help patients who had developed disordered patterns of breathing to return to more normal patterns. 

The study found that 80% of participants reported improvements in their breathing. Similar approaches are being taken in Europe with groups such as Germany’s voice teacher’s association BDG, which runs a programme called Durchatmen, which translates into English as breathe.

For Isobel Gunn and Dr Robertson, the effects go beyond the lungs.

The Herald: The Warblers get together once a week to keep their lungs healthy by singingThe Warblers get together once a week to keep their lungs healthy by singing (Image: Jon Davey Photography)

Dr Robertson said: “It helps people physically in their breathing and their posture, it can help them emotionally in being valued by others. It brings people together.

“One of the things I have learned is about the importance of sustaining the exhale. We find even within a session that people might begin a session breathing in quite a high way rather than thinking of the abdomen and diaphragm, breathing lower and slower and focusing on sustaining the out breath for longer. Taking a big breath before singing can actually be counterproductive, because it creates tension in the upper part of the body and the neck.

He added: “We use songs whose phrasing is appropriate to all this. We sing things like Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkell and the songs of Karine Polwart, which lend themselves well to what we’re doing, too. The groups have also written some of their own songs, too. We find that even after a single session people might focus differently on their breathing.

“It’s breathwork by stealth. Breathing is not the primary focus. We come to sing and as an outcome of that it enhances the breathing a great deal.”

The Warblers are now preparing to stage a concert in Edinburgh this spring, with fellow lung-health singing group The Cheyne Gang, and hope to engage with others who could benefit from singing with people living with debilitating lung conditions like bronchiectasis and asthma.

She said: “One of the first things some people say when they come along is, ‘I’m not a very good singer.’ But it’s not about being a good singer, it’s about the overall sense of well-being. My COPD hasn’t got too bad and I think it would have done had I just been sitting in the house.” 



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Introduction

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, preventable, and treatable respiratory disease that is the third leading global cause of death, accounting for 3.2 million people annually.1 It is a chronic condition characterized by airflow limitation with a progressive decline in lung function over time, especially in smokers, that requires careful ongoing management.2 The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines assess patients according to their level of symptoms and previous history of exacerbations. The severity of COPD is based on the classification of airflow limitation by pulmonary function testing, with a post-bronchodilator ratio of the forced expiratory volume in the first second to the forced vital capacity of the lungs (FEV1/FVC) ratio of <0.7.3 Treating COPD has significant financial impacts on health care systems; it accounts for approximately 4% of all public hospital annual admissions in Hong Kong4 and is a leading cause of hospital readmissions.5–8 As a common diagnosis associated with hospital readmission within 30 days, COPD greatly impacts hospital stays and healthcare expenses worldwide.4,5,9 People with COPD deal with reduced lung function, limited energy expenditure, and functional capacity to meet exertional demands. Increased shortness of breath and dyspnea often induce fear of participating in daily activities. People may become progressively sedentary as their activity tolerance deteriorates over time. Common comorbidities include cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, muscle wasting, underweight and obesity, metabolic disorders, and anxiety and depression. In addition, the signs and symptoms of COPD are highly associated with the person’s adherence to a health regimen, respiratory hygiene, cough etiquette, and environment and weather conditions.10–12

Suboptimal management of COPD reduces patients’ quality of life and increases their risk of acute exacerbation of COPD, leading to hospital admission and readmission – and increased risk of mortality. An increasing number of severity of exacerbations were associated with increasing risk of subsequent exacerbation, all-cause mortality and COPD-related mortality.13 Increased prevalence of bronchiectasis was reported, which is associated with more frequent and severe exacerbations, impaired quality of life and possibly reduced survival.14 High morbidity and mortality rates resulting from poor COPD care, high crude fatality rate of COVID-19 (7.4%), 1.45 times more likely with severe complications with current smokers.15 Bourbeau and Bartlett highlighted patients with comorbid COPD and heart failure are at a 1.61 times higher risk of all-cause mortality and 2.01 times for COPD-related hospitalization that COPD patients without heart failure. The adjusted risk ratio was 1.01 for 30 days and 1.11 for 1 year of COPD rehospitalization.16 Hansel, McCormack and Kim conducted a critical review and suggested the prevalence of COPD-related readmission varied from 2.6 to 82.2% at 30 days and 25.0–87.0% at 12 months post-discharge.17 Furthermore, non-adherence to COPD medication, incorrect inhaler technique, and/or selection of appropriate inhaler device worsens clinical and economic outcomes.17,18 Peak Inspiration Flow (PIF) was one of the functional parameters to evaluate the adherence to treatment or errors in inhalation technique.19

Best practices in COPD care call for a multidisciplinary team that includes collaboration among occupational therapists, physical therapists, and nurses with pulmonary rehabilitation experts. A 2016 Lancet review2 explains that optimal COPD care includes appropriate drug treatment, nutrition counseling and modulation, physical activity coaching, energy conservation, exercise training, self-management, and psychological counseling. The presence of co-occurring, chronic, noncommunicable diseases and other physical and psychological manifestations must be addressed to characterize and manage the needs of individual patients with COPD.2 The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease strategy document recommended guidelines for managing comorbidities, suggesting it should be personalized for the individual.3 Multiple components of interventions would enhance COPD management.20

This article aimed to first examine and understand barriers to optimal and effective COPD care, and second, to review three emerging innovative approaches that are effective in augmenting the health of those with COPD.

Method

This review was conducted as part of a doctoral project to develop effective COPD interventions.21 We used a modified umbrella review approach22 to summarize and evaluate published systematic reviews related to barriers to COPD care and outcomes and the FEV1 means to remediate this gap. Reviews were identified through an exhaustive search of electronic databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus with Full Text Comprehensive, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Limitations were set to January 2012- December 2022 to obtain the latest evidence from reviews, systematic reviews, or meta-analyses. Key terms were entered in various combinations with multiple Boolean operators. They included COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with keywords for the best COPD care and barriers and evidence-based solutions. Following the database search, the investigators conducted hand searches (ie, manual searching and scanning print journals for review articles) of reference lists within each article. The inclusion criteria included a peer-reviewed publication, English language, clinical diagnosis of COPD, eg post-bronchodilation FEV1/FVC<0.7, and age above 40. Interventions targeted at patients with multiple comorbidities outside of COPD were excluded.

Results

The literature search yielded a total of 56 resources for this paper: 44 were systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and 13 were literature reviews. The evidence regarding barriers to optimal COPD care covered various aspects: personal patient factors (mentioned in one systematic review23 and five literature reviews);24–28 the impact of professionals’ knowledge and behaviors on care quality (discussed in one literature review);26 Patient-Professional Relationship (addressed in one systematic review and five literature reviews); Health Care Service Models (covered in five meta-analyses/systematic reviews20,29–32 and one literature review);33 and Access to COPD Care (explored in four meta-analyses/systematic reviews34–37 and one literature review).26

Regarding innovative evidence-based approaches to COPD care, the evidence encompassed Self-Management Educational Programs (featured in nine meta-analyses/systematic reviews38–46 and four literature reviews),47–50 Health Qigong (included in ten meta-analyses/systematic reviews),51–60 and Telehealth (highlighted in seven meta-analyses/systematic reviews29–31,61–64 and one literature review).65

Barriers to COPD Care

The literature search revealed multiple barriers that were organized into three categories: personal patient factors, professionals’ knowledge and awareness of COPD management, patient-professional relationships and psychological factors, healthcare service model and access to care.

Personal Patient Factors

Evidence demonstrated that despite a common notion that adherence is related to personal patient factors, it is a multifactorial phenomenon influenced by the patient, clinician, and society.10,27 A meta-analysis of 50 years of adherence research in chronic diseases demonstrated that non-adherence behaviors are not associated with age, gender, educational level and socioeconomic status.66,67 However, the six dimensions of medication nonadherence were identified and outlined by the World Health Organization.25,28 These are: Social/economic (eg, illiteracy, transportation); Health system (eg, insurance coverage), dissatisfaction with the treating physician, and limited interaction between clinicians and patients; Therapy-related (eg, polypharmacy); Condition-related (eg, fragility), the severity of the disease, and concern about the medicine’s harmful effects; Patient-related (eg, self-efficacy, knowledge); and Informal caregiver (eg, overprotect Clinical inertia is broadly defined as “recognizing the problem but failing to act”.68 It includes patients’ nonadherence to the prescribed treatment, therapeutic inertia (providers fail to initiate medications or intensify treatment), and inappropriate therapy.69 Reasons for clinical inertia in managing nonadherence can be classified into provider, patient, and system factors. According to systematic reviews of medication nonadherence conducted among COPD patients, the rates of nonadherence ranged from 22% to 93%. Most of the studies came from high-income countries.23,26

Low social and economic status and inadequate family and social support negatively affect most health conditions, including COPD.70,71 People with COPD who live in remote places far from a health care centre and do not have access to transportation may have limited ability to receive services.70,71

On the other hand, people’s attitude, including perceptions of COPD severity, influences their willingness to participate in the demanding health regimens required to manage COPD.27 The severity of COPD cannot be merely documented by subjective measures such as self-reported dyspnea at rest or with exertion, chronic cough with or without sputum production, or a history of wheezing: COPD severity must be regularly assessed for airflow obstruction by spirometry (eg FEV1 and FVC) and combined with results from various subjective and objective evaluations such as a Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (mMRC) and the COPD Assessment Test (CAT).72 In addition, psychological issues, such as anxiety, social isolation, inadequate social support and depression, are important factors contributing to nonadherence.23–25

Finally, the presence of an informal caregiver is an essential factor influencing COPD care.28,73 The company of an informal caregiver provides practical help and emotional support in COPD management. However, informal caregiving may lead to anxiety, depression, social isolation, and a changed relationship with the patient. Nevertheless, the research suggested that overprotective caregivers can make patients more dependent.

Five literature reviews provided qualitative evidence about the effect of an informal caregiver’s presence, dimensions, and factors associated with nonadherence.24–28 It used informal or subjective methods to collect and interpret studies, so the findings may be biased.

Based on the evidence, it was proposed solutions to medication nonadherence, including addressing the patient’s belief in the medication, better understanding of their disease and drug therapy, confidence in the health care professionals’ expertise, reducing the number of inhaler devices and the dosing regimen, repeating instructions, and reinforcing the potential for better quality of life and satisfaction with their inhaler devices and less frequent exacerbation.23 A coordinated, multifaceted approach was suggested in improving COPD care and adherence, including the use of health informatics, changes in provider workflow, application of objective and performance measures, stimulating patient empowerment, and education and training.26,27 It also suggested mobile telephone technology and electronic monitoring and devices as alternative solutions.24,27 Informal caregivers should be involved because the solutions could improve the quality of life for patients and their informal caregivers and save health care costs.

Professional Awareness and Knowledge of COPD Management

Research findings support the proposition that professionals’ awareness, knowledge, and resulting behaviors are key to improving best-practice care and management of COPD.26,74 The positive doctor–patient relationship, including listening and understanding, can also help patients adhere more to treatment, improve their lifestyle, resume activities interrupted because of failing health, and improve their quality of life.

It was suggested that provider factors may affect the appropriate management of COPD, including understanding and attitudes toward the disease and awareness of guidelines.26

The evidence presented here supports the connection between professionals’ knowledge and behaviors and COPD care as it appears in the explanatory model. Although the quality of the literature review was lower, the evidence highlighted a multifaceted approach to enhancing clinical inertia in managing COPD was recommended.26 The review evidence supports the influence of professionals’ knowledge and behavior factors underpinned in the explanatory model. Smoking cessation can effectively reduce the risk of death, alleviate respiratory symptoms, and decrease the frequency of acute exacerbations among patients with COPD.75 Theory-based smoking cessation intervention has a productive impact on motivating patients to quit smoking, improving their lung function and quality of life. Common education approach for patients with COPD and smoking history including 5A approach (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange), 5R approach (Relevance, Risks, Rewards, Roadblocks, and Repetition), and the motivational interviews.3

Based on the evidence, solutions should address a multifaceted approach,26 a positive doctor-patient relationship, local health system and delivery, direct costs to patients, the causal role of smoking in COPD,76 and adoption of guidelines in COPD treatment choice.74

Patient–Professional Relationship and Psychological Factors

A positive relationship, including listening and understanding, was key to improving clinical care and management of COPD. The relationship quality impacted the adherence and effectiveness of therapies and resumption of activities. It is also strictly linked to successful smoking cessation, achieving a “therapeutic alliance”, and commitment to pharmacological or rehabilitation treatments. A productive relationship helps patients adhere more to treatment, improve their lifestyle, resume activities interrupted because of failing health, and improve their quality of life. Furthermore, psychological issues such as anxiety, social isolation, inadequate social support and depression were leading causes of medication nonadherence and poor COPD management.23–25

Health Care Service Model and Access to COPD Care

The service model of health care management and administration can act as a barrier to facilitating COPD care. Current infection control measures guide the setup of service provision locations. Places that are not up to infection control standards cannot provide care, which inhibits access to care. Inconsistent COPD care and referral pathways; fragmented COPD services, interventions, and resources; multidisciplinary teams not working; and miscommunication were the identified barriers under the catchment of current service provision.77

Multiple studies confirmed that integrated disease management (IDM) programs contributed to efficient quality care.6,26,33–35,39,78 These programs included different health care professionals, such as family and respiratory physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists.

A meta-analysis summarized 52 worldwide randomized controlled trials on IDM.20 Those authors indicated various components of care that enhanced COPD management, including organizational, professional, patient-directed, and financial interventions. Meanwhile, services promoted regular meetings with family physicians and health professionals and referred all COPD patients to attend the self-management program as mandatory. These types of services facilitate effective care and reduce the risk of acute exacerbation.78 In addition, introducing telehealth services and normalizing COPD self-management into routine practice would enhance coordinated COPD primary and secondary management worldwide.

Findings of several systematic reviews29,34,35,37 confirmed the influence of access to care on COPD care and identified sources that influence access to care. There are three factors affecting access to care for COPD patients—provider, system, and patients—and gave examples, such as appropriate management of COPD service, insurance coverage, and access to proper puff medications.26 Results of the systematic reviews provided evidence of a myriad of factors that influence access to care, including the location of service provision, lack of transport service, wait time, burden of illness, health system resources, fragmented care with lack of communication, modalities of access to the services, and sanitary facilities with physical and architectural barriers.29,34,35

Innovative Evidence-Based Approaches to COPD Care

Effective evidence-based solutions should address a multifaceted, innovative delivery format supporting patients attending training in primary care,26,34 addressing personal and health care system environment barriers in access to care29,35 and patient and caregiver values.37 The evidence is organized according to three key evidence ingredients: self-management education programs, health qigong and telehealth for effective COPD care.

Self-Management Educational Programs Influence the Health Status of Patients with COPD

Self-Management Education program have been shown to have positive health outcomes, especially in primary care settings.35,43–52,79,80 Furthermore, COPD self-management interventions were deemed safe and unlikely to cause harm.38

Three Self-Management Intervention models of care across the continuum of exacerbations were summarized: (a) chronic care and Self-Management Interventions with an action plan, (b) domiciliary care for severe exacerbation and its impact on readmission prevention, and (c) a discharge care bundle for management beyond the acute exacerbation.48 All three interventions aim to improve quality outcomes, enhance patient well-being, and reduce exacerbation complications such as hospital admissions/readmissions. Interventions should focus on controlling costs by avoiding hospitalizations. The authors recommended that future models of care should be personalized—providing patient education aimed at behavioral changes, identifying and treating comorbidities, and including outcomes that measure the quality of care. A COPD written action plan for adherence can be further used and enhanced with telehealth technologies in a specialized clinic experienced in COPD self-management. A complete feedback loop process should be implemented to constantly assess whether the desired outcomes are being achieved for a patient with personalized self-management in COPD.47,79 The program durations typically ranged from 1 month to at least 2 years.40

Telemedicine can be an adjunct to self-management approaches, assisting proper health care coaching.48 It was recommended the following keys to success in COPD self-management plans:49

  • better education for healthcare professionals on disease management and consultation skills;
  • new targets and priorities for patient-focused outcomes;
  • skills-gap audits to identify barriers to self-management;
  • best-practice sharing within primary care networks and ongoing professional development;
  • enhanced initial consultations to establish optimal self-management from the outset; and
  • negotiate and share self-management plans at the point of diagnosis.

The content of the self-management program was suggested, including intervention strategies and common assessment and training tools.39 The self-management program’s content mostly included anatomical structures of respiratory ways and lungs, pathophysiology, common symptoms, progress and disease stages, conventional medications, exacerbation management, daily exercises, and breathing retraining. It also focused on energy conservation techniques, lifestyle changes, smoking cessation, coping with anxiety and stress, training family caregivers, and nutritional issues. It was recommended that the self-management program identify support that helps people self-manage and adapt to life with mild/moderate COPD,40 reducing the impact of this slowly progressive condition in primary or community settings. Self-management support preferences were identified as helping people engage with self-management support and facilitating better self-management, including types of support, support relationships, and accessibility.43

Substantial evidence concluded that Self-Management Interventions with a COPD exacerbation action plan were associated with improved health-related quality of life and reduced emergency department visits over 12 months.38,41,42,44,45 It suggested that effective interventions include iterative interactions between participants and health care professionals using behavioral change techniques. Applying self-management interventions elicits participants’ motivation, confidence, and competence to adapt their health behaviors positively and cultivate better coping skills to manage their disease.38 Another systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted, and intervention descriptions for behavioral change techniques were coded, addressing (a) symptoms, (b) physical activity, and (c) mental health.42 Self-management interventions should target not only symptom management but also mental health issues, including social support and reducing negative emotions.

Health literacy should be emphasized in training.46 It drives the self-management program and significantly improves patients’ disease knowledge and physical activity levels. A scoping review was conducted and identified four main components in COPD patients’ self-management programs: the initiation stage of the intervention, educational sessions, support, and monitoring methods. The common characteristics of the intervention included:50

  • Initiation intervention sessions could have a positive impact because they test the patients’ motivation for the intervention; they could contribute to better outcomes in self-management programs.
  • Action plans engage patients in managing their disease.
  • Educational materials helped patients in the self-management process.
  • Phone calls are intended to motivate, engage, and accompany patients throughout the intervention.

It was recommended that self-management interventions with e-health blended with face-to-face interventions reduce the disease burden with significant positive effects on various health-related outcomes.44 The rate of 30-day hospital readmission and the number of hospital admissions in the past 12 months should be compared due to acute exacerbation for high-risk patients with COPD to monitor the quality of care for COPD.48

Health Qigong for Patients with COPD

Health Qigong is a “mind-body exercise”80 that enforces a state of relaxed mind rhythmic, deep, and slow breathing, sometimes with the use of the diaphragm; and motion coordinated with breathing. Health qigong is an integration for a state of balance/homeostasis by regulating the body, breathing, and mind. It is an innovative way to promote self-management and positive health outcomes for COPD patients.51–55 The findings confirmed the positive influence of HQG on the health status of patients with COPD care.

Regularly practicing HQG was found to promote the health status of patients with COPD.53 Results of several meta-analyses provided evidence of the contributions of HQG to reducing anxiety and depression.53,57 Substantial evidence showed that HQG practice enhanced lung function,53–55,58–60 minimized the perceived severity of dyspnea,58,59 and promoted physical fitness.51,53–55,58–60 The improved physical and psychosocial health further uplifted the patient’s immunity81,82 and quality of life (QOL).51,53–55,58,59

Telehealth for Effective COPD Care

Telehealth is a broad term referring to the delivery of healthcare services where patients and healthcare providers are separated by distance. It relies on technology to exchange information with healthcare providers and can be asynchronous or synchronous.83 A systematic review concluded that common telehealth interventions for patients with COPD included self-management programs via telemonitoring or self-management programs combined with other interventions (eg exercise, mobile apps for pulmonary rehabilitation, or home care).84 In delivering the telehealth interventions, it should be aware of sociodemographic and intervention-related factors in promoting acceptance and minimizing dropout rate. Evidence suggests that telerehabilitation can deliver self-management programs effectively, increasing accessibility and adherence.30,62,64,65

Evidence from the intervention programs showed that primary pulmonary rehabilitation, or maintenance rehabilitation, delivered via telerehabilitation or home-based exercise therapy provided using advanced telehealth technology for people with COPD, achieved outcomes similar to traditional center-based pulmonary rehabilitation. No safety issues were identified.29,30,61 Home-based telehealth pulmonary rehabilitation had similar effects to outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programs and more significant results than usual care for people with COPD.63 Telerehabilitation promoted the program completion rate29,30 and was beneficial as an additional health resource, depending on individual needs based on professional assessment.31

Multicomponent telerehabilitation interventions with asynchronous remote monitoring were not better than usual care but provided short-term benefits for quality of life and resulted in fewer hospital readmissions for any cause.31 The introduction of smart technology added a significant positive effect on activity level, self-management, and subsequent health-related quality of life in terms of symptoms and health status compared to participants who received face-to-face, digital, and/or written support for self-management of COPD.62 However, the improvement may not be sustained over a long duration without continued intervention.

A standardized outcome-reporting framework for digital health interventions in COPD self-management was recommended.64 Monitoring devices such as pulse oximeters and pedometers linked to mobile apps can facilitate activity monitoring and compliance with the action plan.

A meta-analysis31 suggested that most telehealth interventions for patients with COPD range from 13 to 52 weeks. Significant heterogeneity of health qigong types was included in the trials of pulmonary rehabilitation programs. To produce a substantial health effect after regular practice of health qigong, most interventions ranged from 6 to 12 weeks, with each session lasting at least 30 min.51,54,56,58,60

Discussion

The aim of this literature review was twofold: first, to assess the main obstacles to providing optimal care for COPD, and second, to explore three approaches for improving COPD care. The evidence collected was organized into an explanatory model, shown in Figure 1. The complexities involved in managing COPD include patient personal factors, professionals’ knowledge and behavior, and healthcare service models, as well as the mediating role of access to care. All these significantly contribute to poorer health outcomes for individuals. Inadequate COPD management heightens their risk of acute exacerbations. Nevertheless, the evidence points to the potential contribution of three approaches: telehealth can reduce challenges related to accessing care, while interventions involving self-management education and/or health qigong have the potential to improve COPD care and outcomes.

Figure 1 Explanatory model of causal factors influencing COPD management and outcomes, and potential approaches to enhance outcomes.

While COPD is largely preventable, this literature underscores its persistently high prevalence and severe repercussions for individuals, healthcare systems, and economies. The lessons gleaned from the pandemic, which imposed limitations on patient access to care, resulted in suboptimal COPD management, manifesting in a decline in quality of life (QOL), heightened incidence of acute exacerbations, hospital readmissions, and elevated mortality rates.

Accumulated evidence underscores the intricacy of managing COPD and its associated comorbidities in a chronic care context. The literature review pinpointed various obstacles, spanning from individual-level factors to healthcare professionals’ knowledge, skills, and patient relationships, as well as encompassing healthcare models and their accessibility.

Based on the evidence, interventions of COPD care should address a multifaceted, innovative delivery format, supporting rural patients attending training,26,34 addressing personal and health care system environment barriers in access to care29,35 and patient and caregiver values.37

Three principal strategies emerged as efficacious means to alleviate these barriers. The first approach involves self-management education programs. Self-management education programs are safe and unlikely to cause harm.38 Several meta-analyses and systematic reviews recommended a training intensity and duration for telehealth self-management programs and supervised health qigong training to achieve significant health-improvement effects. Effective interventions are expected to improve patient’s quality of life and reduce the frequency of hospital readmission and risk of mortality.31,40,53,54,56,58,60

The telehealth delivery format can enhance access to COPD care and address the limitations of the existing health service model. The format mitigates access to care issues and enables a broader outreach for the delivery of self-management programs in patients’ homes.62 In addition, ongoing support, communication, and feedback between health professionals and participants using productive information technology via social media can enhance the professionals’ knowledge and awareness and activate patients in managing their health and wellness. It provides clinical effectiveness similar to traditional face-to-face intervention.63

Regular practice of health qigong was found to promote the health status of patients with COPD.53 It enhanced lung function,53–55,58–60 minimized the perceived severity of dyspnea,58,59 and promoted physical fitness.51,53–55,58–60 The improved physical and psychosocial health further uplifted immunity81,82 and quality of life.51,53–55,58,59

Conclusions

In conclusion, addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by COPD is imperative for optimizing patient outcomes and reducing the burden on healthcare systems worldwide. This comprehensive review underscores the critical role of personalized care in mitigating barriers related to patient factors, professional awareness, relationships, and healthcare service models. Introducing innovative approaches, such as Self-Management Educational Programs, Health Qigong, and Telehealth, presents a transformative shift towards more effective COPD management. These interventions can empower patients and enhance their physical and psychosocial well-being. By integrating these evidence-based strategies into holistic COPD management plans, healthcare providers can significantly enhance the overall quality of life for individuals grappling with this chronic condition. This collaborative effort towards comprehensive care marks a significant step forward in the global battle against COPD. Occupational therapists can effectively lead these interventions for better health and functional outcomes.

Acknowledgment

This paper is based on the dissertation of Damian Chi Hong Siu.21 It has been published on the institutional website: open.bu.edu/handle/2144/46172.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

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