Combined inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting β2-adrenergic agonist therapy for noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis with airflow limitation: An observational study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is presently no clear evidence on the effect of combined treatment for non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting β2-adrenergic agonist (LABA). The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of salmeterol-fluticasone combined inhaled therapy for non-CF bronchiectasis with airflow limitation. METHODS: An observational study was performed in 120 non-CF bronchiectasis patients diagnosed by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scanning of the chest. Patients received either routine therapy or salmeterol-fluticasone (100/500 μg daily) combined inhaled therapy on the basis of routine therapy. Clinical symptoms, health-related quality of life (HRQL), lung function, short-acting β2-adrenergic agonist (SABA) use, and safety were monitored throughout the study. RESULTS: OF the 120 subjects, 60 received combined inhaled therapy and 60 received routine therapy. Compared to the control group, the combined inhaled therapy group showed significant improvement in their clinical symptom scores (−2.21 vs. −0.31, P = 0.002) and a reduction in number of weekly SABA usage (−4.2 vs. 0.1, P < 0.01). In addition, patients in the inhaled therapy group achieved a significant improvement in HRQL based on mMRC (−1.51 vs. −0.31, P < 0.005) and SGRQ (−7.83 vs. −2.16, P < 0.01) scoring accompanied with no severe adverse events. There were fewer exacerbation frequencies in the combined inhaled therapy group over the 12 months of treatment compared to the control group (1 [0–2] vs. 2 [1–4], P = 0.017). Furthermore, stratified analysis indicated that combined inhaled therapy partially improve lung function for patients for whom it is severely impaired and those with pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated. CONCLUSION: Our results show that salmeterol-fluticasone combined inhaled therapy should be effective and safe for non-CF bronchiectasis patients especially for those patients with poor lung function or pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated.