The 6-minute Walk Test as a COPD Stratification Tool: Insights From the COPD Biomarker Qualification Consortium.

Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2016 Jun 22;

Authors: Celli B, Tetzlaff K, Criner G, Polkey MI, Sciurba F, Casaburi R, Tal-Singer R, Kawata A, Merrill D, Rennard S, COPD Biomarker Qualification Consortium

Abstract
BACKGROUND: The 6-minute walk test distance (6MWD) predicts mortality in COPD. Whether variability in study type (observational versus interventional), region performed limits use of the test as a stratification tool or outcome measure for therapeutic trials is unclear.
METHODS: Original data from 14,497 COPD patients from 6 observational (n = 9641) and 5 interventional (n=4856) studies larger than 100 patients and longer than 6 months in duration were included. The geographical, anthropometrics, FEV1, dyspnea, co-morbidities and health status scores were measured. Associations between 6MWD with mortality, hospitalizations and exacerbations adjusted by study type, age and gender were evaluated. Thresholds for outcome prediction were calculated using receiver-operating curves. The change in 6MWD after inhaled bronchodilator treatment and surgical lung volume reduction (LVRS) were analyzed to evaluate the responsiveness of the test as an outcome measure.
RESULTS: The 6MWD was significantly lower in non-survivors, those hospitalized or who exacerbated compared with those without events at 6, 12 and > 12 months. At these time points, the 6MWD ROC-AUC to predict mortality was 0.71, 0.70 and 0.68 and for hospitalizations was 0.61, 0.60 and 0.59. After treatment, the 6MWD was not different between placebo or bronchodilators but increased after LVRS compared with medical therapy. Variation across study types (observational or therapeutic) or regions did not confound the ability of 6MWD to predict outcome.
CONCLUSIONS: The 6MWD may help stratify COPD patients for clinical trials and interventions aimed at modifying exacerbations, hospitalizations or death.

PMID: 27332504 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Home or community-based pulmonary rehabilitation for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cad Saude Publica. 2016 Jun 20;32(6)

Authors: Neves LF, Reis MH, Gonçalves TR

Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (OPR) has shown positive results. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of home or community-based pulmonary rehabilitation (HCPR) in individuals with COPD. This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials compared HCPR to controls and HCPR to OPR according to functional capacity, dyspnea, and quality of life in individuals with COPD. 3,172 citations were identified in databases, and 23 were included in this review. HCPR proved superior to controls based on functional capacity in the 6-Minute Walk Test and Incremental Shuttle Walk Test, and based on dyspnea and quality of life in the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire and the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire. When HCPR and OPR were compared, there were no effect differences in functional capacity or quality of life. Improvement was greater in patients with more bronchial obstruction measured by FEV1. HCPR improves functional capacity and quality of life and decreases the sensation of dyspnea. Its benefits in functional capacity and quality of life are comparable to those obtained with OPR in individuals with COPD.

PMID: 27333130 [PubMed - in process]

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The effect of umeclidinium added to inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-agonist in patients with symptomatic COPD: a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group study.

NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2016;26:16031

Authors: Sousa AR, Riley JH, Church A, Zhu CQ, Punekar YS, Fahy WA

Abstract
Benefits of triple therapy with a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA), added to inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting β2-agonist (LABA), have been demonstrated. Limited data assessing the efficacy of the LAMA umeclidinium (UMEC) added to ICS/LABA are available. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of UMEC added to ICS/LABAs in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD. This is a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, parallel-group study. Patients were symptomatic (modified Medical Research Council Dyspnoea Scale score ⩾2), despite receiving ICS/LABA (fluticasone propionate/salmeterol (FP/SAL, branded) 500/50 mcg, budesonide/formoterol (BD/FOR, branded) 200/6 mcg or 400/12 mcg, or other ICS/LABAs) ⩾30 days before the run-in (7±2 days). Patients were randomised 1:1 to once-daily UMEC 62.5 mcg or placebo (PBO), added to twice-daily open-label ICS/LABA for 12 weeks. Primary end point was trough forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) at Day 85; secondary end point was weighted mean (WM) 0-6 h FEV1 at Day 84; other end points included COPD Assessment Test (CAT) score and Transition Dyspnoea Index (TDI) score. Adverse events (AEs) were investigated. In the UMEC+ICS/LABA and PBO+ICS/LABA groups, 119 and 117 patients were randomised, respectively. Patients received FP/SAL (40%), BD/FOR (43%) and other ICS/LABAs (17%). UMEC+ICS/LABA resulted in significant improvements in trough FEV1 (Day 85) and in WM 0-6 h FEV1 (Day 84) versus PBO+ICS/LABA (difference: 123 and 148 ml, respectively, both P<0.001). Change from baseline for UMEC+ICS/LABA versus PBO+ICS/LABA was significantly different for CAT score at Day 84 (-1.31, P<0.05), but not for TDI score (0.40, P=0.152). AE incidence was similar with UMEC+ICS/LABA (38%) and PBO+ICS/LABA (42%). UMEC+ICS/LABA improved lung function and CAT score in patients with symptomatic COPD versus PBO+ICS/LABA (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02257372).

PMID: 27334739 [PubMed - in process]

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The Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus in COPD Patients with Severe and Very Severe Stage of the Disease.

Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2016 Jun 15;4(2):253-8

Authors: Stojkovikj J, Zafirova-Ivanovska B, Kaeva B, Anastasova S, Angelovska I, Jovanovski S, Stojkovikj D

Abstract
AIM: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in privies diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with severe and very severe disease, which ware stable.
METHODS: We investigated 100 subjects, all of them smokers, with smoking status >10 years. They were stratified in two groups. It was clinical, randomized, cross sectional study. Besides demographic parameters, functional parameters, BMI, cholesterol, LDL and HDL, and the level of blood sugar was measured.
RESULTS: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in our survey in total number of COPD patients with severe and very severe stage was 21%. In the very severe group were recorded significantly higher average values of glycaemia compared with severe group (7.67 ± 3.7 vs. 5.62 ± 0.9, p = 0.018). In the group with severe COPD, it was not confirmed any factor with significant predictive effect on the values of glycaemia. As independent significant factors that affect blood glucose in a group of very severe COPD were confirmed cholesterol (p <0.0001) and HDL (p = 0.018).
CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the presence of the COPD in patients itself is a factor that results in the clinical presentation of diabetes mellitus Type 2.

PMID: 27335596 [PubMed]