Tiotropium Bromide Aids COPD Patients

A study has shown that tiotropium bromide inhalation powder (Spiriva HandiHaler) can reduce lung hyperinflation and improve exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Patients with COPD have chronic expiratory airflow limitation and, as a result, they develop hyperinflation, which is associated with dyspnea or the subjective sensation of breathlessness. Exercise training can improve exercise tolerance and symptoms of breathlessness and fatigue. In the current study, researchers evaluated the effect of treatment with tiotropium bromide on exercise tolerance in 261 patients with COPD. The results showed significant improvements in exercise duration and reduction of lung hyperinflation. The study was presented at the annual conference of the American Thoracic Society in Orlando (FL, USA) in May 2004.

The Spiriva HandiHaler is the product of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Ingelheim, Germany). The inhaler has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the long-term, once-daily maintenance treatment of bronchospasm associated with COPD, including bronchitis and emphysema.

"Hyperinflation is a key target for COPD therapy as it is associated with chronic shortness of breath which gets worse during activity,” said principal investigator Denis O'Donnell, M.D., head of the division of respiratory and critical care medicine, Queen's University (Kingston, Canada). "It is therefore important to target hyperinflation to help manage the impact of this disease.”





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