Study: Inhaled Steroid Use in COPD Patients Doesn't Improve Survival or Prevent Flare-Ups

Via Reuters:   A new study suggests that the regular use of inhaled steroids does not improve survival or prevent disease flare-ups in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), contrary to some reports:

The new study was conducted to address possible bias in previous research.The benefits of inhaled steroids for COPD is a controversial topic, lead author Dr. Vincent S. Fan, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues note. While some studies have suggested an improvement in survival, others have failed to demonstrate this. . . . To avoid this type of study bias, they conducted a study using "time-dependent" methods. Specifically, the authors wanted to determine if using inhaled steroids for at least 80 percent of the time reduced death rates and prevented flare-ups in COPD patients.

Of the 8,033 patients included in the study, nearly 2,700 were prescribed an inhaled steroid for at least 80 percent of a three-month interval. There was no evidence that average steroid use at low or high/medium doses reduced the risk of death, the authors note. Similarly, recent steroid use was not associated with a survival benefit. Inhaled steroid use also did not appear to affect hospitalizations or flare-ups due to COPD, the researchers report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.