Individualizing COPD Care

New findings from the Efficacy and Safety of Triple Therapy in Obstructive Lung Disease (ETHOS) trial show triple therapy inhaler budesonide/glycopyrrate/formoterol significantly reduced moderate to very severe exacerbations among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) versus dual therapy over 52 weeks.

The results, presented virtually at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2020 Virtual Sessions this week by investigator Klaus F. Rabe, MD, showed bolstered evidence for a burgeoning drug class in the at-need patient population. It also helped lay groundwork for the implementation of more individualized COPD treatment—whatever that may look like.

In an interview with HCPLive on the day of the virtual sessions, Rabe discussed the evolving refinement of COPD therapy—a treatment field which has paled in progress to those like asthma.

“We have to run very hard to catch up with new molecules, treatments, other options,” he explained.

That said, the comprising treatment characteristics of the ETHOS trial help make the case that the field is beginning to novelize its care options.

“To test this in a large enough trial to deduce meaningful conclusions for clinical practice—I think that is why this is relevant,” Rabe said.

Case in point: particular observed benefits among patients with raised eosinophil counts indicate that budesonide with LAMA/LABA may serve as an individualized COPD therapy.