Short term effect of tiotropium on COPD patients treated with long acting bronchodilators

Background: The results of bronchodilator therapy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not satisfactory and because of this, many drugs are administered for treatment of disease. We examined the short-term additive bronchodilator effects of tiotropium in patients with stable COPD already treated with salmeterol twice daily. Materials and Methods : in a double-blind, double- dummy randomized study we evaluated the acute bronchodilator efficacy of a single 18 µg dose of tiotropium in patients with COPD under chronic treatment with a long acting beta-adrenergic (salmeterol 50µg twice a day). Measurements of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and six-minute walking test (6 MWT) as indicator of daily activities were made before and after giving the drug. A total of 129 outpatients with stable COPD (Gold level 2-3- 4) were enrolled and 92 completed the study. Results: Tiotropium elicited a significantly greater bronchodilation than the placebo. The action of the drug was elicited as increase in FEV1 (p≤0.001) an