Issues of triple therapy of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Comments to the algorithm. A resolution of expert panel, June 13, 2018, Vladivostok

Abstract

Minimizing the risk of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) along with symptoms control are the most important therapeutic tasks in COPD. The effective solution of this problem is still being discussed. The prevention of COPD exacerbations is of social and economic importance and should be the primary concern in the treatment of this disease. Unresolved problems in the treatment of COPD are low patient compliance to therapy and side effects of medication. According to recent guidelines, in case of persistent COPD exacerbations with patients receiving long-acting bronchodilators (LABA), the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) must be considered; this reduces the incidence of moderate and severe COPD exacerbations, especially if a patient has a history of bronchial asthma or blood and/or sputum eosinophilia. Availability of LABA/LAMA and ICS/LABA fixed combinations in Russia provides two possible options to administer a free triple combination consisting of a single LAMA plus ICS/LABA or ICS plus LAMA/LAMA. According to multiple trials, the use of fixed combinations could provide twice improvement in the patient adherence to the therapy, which therefore leads to higher efficiency. The main complaint about ICS with COPD patients is an increased risk of pneumonia as well as the development of systemic adverse reactions typical for corticosteroids. However, the use of extra-fine ICS could significantly reduce the risk of pneumonia compared with fine-particle inhalators and also increases the effectiveness of therapy as the pathological process in COPD mainly involves the small airways.