Physicians opinions on ics/laba (inhaled corticosteroid/long acting beta 2 agonist) fixed combinations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) treatment: A preliminary survey

Purpose: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), is a common, preventable and treatable disease. COPD is characterized by persistent airflow limitation that is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in the airways and the lung to noxious particles or gases. Exacerbations and comorbidities contribute to the overall severity in individual patients. COPD is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and results in an economic and social burden that is both substantial and increasing. Inhaled corticosteroid/ long acting beta2 agonist (ICS/LABA) fixed combinations are commonly used drugs in COPD treatment. Inhaled Corticosteroids reduce the inflammation in lungs and beta2-agonists relax airway smooth muscle by stimulating beta2-adrenergic receptors. The aim of this thesis is to gather physicians' opinions on ICS/LABA fixed combinations for COPD. Materials & Method: In order to determine the impact of ICS/LABA fixed combinations on treatment, an expert opinion was investigated. Survey method was selected for data collection. Physicians' opinions and experiments for ICS/LABA fixed combinations on COPD treatment and their observations on disease treatment outcomes were gathered by the survey. The study was conducted at TÜSAD (Turkish Respiratory Society/Türkiye Solunum Araştırmaları Derneği) Congress in Çeşme/İzmir in October 2012. Result and Conclusion: 91.5% of the respondents were pulmonary physician who were the target group of the survey. Most of physicians responded as the frequency and severity of exacerbations and the number of hospitalizations was decreased at patients which have been treated with inhale corticosteroid plus long acting beta2 agonist fixed combinations (ICS/LABA) in their daily practice. Similarly, most of physicians responded as Health Quality of Life, spirometer results and exercise capacity of patients were improved at patients who have been treated with inhale corticosteroid and long acting beta2 agonist fixed combinations (ICS/LABA) in their daily practice. According to the recent studies, the use of LABA/ICS fixed combinations in the severe stages of the disease is effective in reducing the long-term clinical impact of COPD and in optimizing the cost-effectiveness and the socio-economic convenience of therapeutic strategies by decreasing the number of exacerbations and hospitalizations. Our survey results showed that, most of Turkish physicians state that the number of exacerbations and hospitalizations were decreased at patients who have been treated with inhale corticosteroid and long acting beta2 agonist fix combinations (IKS/LABA). These results can give rise to thought that the use of LABA/ICS fix combinations may have a positive impact on cost of COPD treatment in Turkey by decreasing the number of exacerbations and hospitalization according to the Turkish physicians survey results. Key words: COPD, ICS, LABA, treatment cost, exacerbation, hospitalization.