Browsing by Author "Chan, Charles KN"

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    A Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Tiotropium in Canadian Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
    (2007-01-01) Chan, Charles KN; Maltais, François; Sigouin, Chris; Haddon, Jennifer M; Ford, Gordon T; on behalf of the SAFE Study Group,
    BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who smoke have a greater annual rate of decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) than those patients who have stopped smoking.OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of tiotropium on pre-dose (trough) FEV1 in patients with COPD followed in Canada.METHODS: A total of 913 patients were randomly assigned to receive either tiotropium 18 μg once daily (n=608) or placebo (usual care minus inhaled anticholinergics) (n=305) for 48 weeks in the present randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study. The effect of tiotropium on measurements of lung function (FEV1, FEV6 and forced vital capacity), symptoms, health-related quality of life (St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire) and exacerbations were examined.RESULTS: Tiotropium improved trough FEV1 in both current and ex-smokers compared with placebo. Baseline FEV1 in smokers and ex-smokers was 1.03 L and 0.93 L, respectively (Pud_less_than0.001). At week 48, the mean difference between the tiotropium and placebo groups was 0.14±0.04 L (Pud_less_than0.001) in the smoker group and 0.08±0.02 L (Pud_less_than0.0001) in the ex-smoker group. Tiotropium also significantly improved trough forced vital capacity and FEV6 compared with placebo throughout the treatment period (Pud_less_than0.05, for all). Furthermore, tiotropium significantly improved the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire total score compared with placebo at week 48 (40.9 versus 43.7 units, Pud_less_than0.005).CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the placebo group, tiotropium provides sustained improvements in lung function in patients with COPD, with improvements for smokers and ex-smokers.