title: Tiotropium and its efficacy in the treatment of COPD.
abstract: Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a negative effect on the clinical course and outcome of the disease thus causing considerable social and economic burden. As the natural course of the disease may vary, the treatment should take into account an individual approach to a patient. The appropriate treatment makes it possible to control the symptoms, improves effort tolerance and decreases the risk of exacerbations and death. Tiotropium is a muscarinic receptor antagonist, which is taken once daily, in maintenance therapy, in every stage of the disease progress. The efficacy of tiotropium in regards to exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been evaluated in many clinical trials against placebo and several different active comparators. This review presents the results of those studies with the main goal to evaluate the efficacy of treatment with tiotropium in terms of prevention and course of exacerbations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Internal Medicine, Asthma and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Poland. maciej.kupczyk@umed.pl.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kupczyk
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Szepiel
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kuna
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D018450:Disease Progression; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000069447:Tiotropium Bromide / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001993:Bronchodilator Agents; D000069447:Tiotropium Bromide