Plain Language Summary Sudden exacerbations, or flare-ups, of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are linked with worsening health and increased risk of death, as well as increased healthcare costs for people with COPD. Long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/long-acting β 2}-agonist (LABA) dual therapy is recommended for patients with COPD who take LAMA or LABA monotherapy but continue to experience flare-ups or ongoing breathlessness. This study compared two single-inhaler LAMA/LABA dual therapies, umeclidinium/vilanterol (UMEC/VI) and indacaterol/glycopyrronium (IND/GLY), in terms of flare-ups in patients with COPD in England. We used two linked databases of de-identified medical records from general practitioners and hospitals for patients with COPD who had a first prescription for UMEC/VI or IND/GLY between 1 January 2015 and 30 September 2019. We compared the two treatments on COPD flare-ups, healthcare resource utilization and related costs, and changes in medication over the 2 years following starting treatment. We found that the treatments were comparable for moderate-to-severe flare-ups. Patients taking UMEC/VI had less Accident and Emergency (A&E) visits in total and less inpatient stays related to their COPD, and had a lower overall cost of healthcare for A&E visits and inpatient stays than patients taking IND/GLY. Changes to treatment and time before their first flare-up were similar for all patients, regardless of their prescribed treatment. This study showed that UMEC/VI is as effective as IND/GLY at preventing moderate-to-severe flare-ups. These results support previous findings demonstrating similarity between UMEC/VI and IND/GLY in reducing the rate of moderate-to-severe exacerbations after starting treatment.
【저자키워드】 comparative effectiveness, exacerbations, healthcare resource utilization, COPD dual therapy, LABA/LAMA new users, single-inhaler dual therapy,