LAUSR

The efficacy of tiotropium/olodaterol compared with tiotropium in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been demonstrated in a large clinical programme. Currently, randomised controlled trial (RCT) data on dual bronchodilation as first-line maintenance therapy are limited. In this post hoc analysis of pooled data from four RCTs, we compared the efficacy of tiotropium/olodaterol versus tiotropium as maintenance therapy in patients with COPD who were not receiving maintenance treatment with long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs), long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs) or inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) (“maintenance naïve”) at study entry. TONADO® 1/2 (52 weeks) and OTEMTO® 1/2 (12 weeks) were phase III RCTs in patients with COPD. TONADO 1/2 and OTEMTO 1/2 enrolled patients with post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) < 80% predicted (lower limit FEV1 ≥ 30% in OTEMTO 1/2 only). We examined the effect of tiotropium/olodaterol 5/5 µg versus tiotropium 5 µg on trough FEV1 response, St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) total score and Transition Dyspnoea Index (TDI) focal score at 12 weeks in four pooled studies. The pooled analysis included 1078 maintenance-naïve patients. There were significant improvements with tiotropium/olodaterol versus tiotropium in trough FEV1 [0.056 L; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.033, 0.079; P < 0.0001], SGRQ score (− 1.780; 95% CI − 3.126 to − 0.434; P = 0.0096) and TDI score (0.409; 95% CI 0.077, 0.741; P = 0.0158) at week 12. For patients receiving tiotropium/olodaterol, the odds of achieving a minimal clinically important difference from baseline in any of the analysed outcomes (FEV1 ≥ 0.1 L, SGRQ ≥ 4.0 points or TDI ≥ 1.0 point) were higher versus tiotropium. In patients who were maintenance naïve at baseline, treatment initiation with tiotropium/olodaterol resulted in greater improvements in lung function, health status and dyspnoea severity compared with tiotropium alone, without compromising patient safety. These results support the use of dual bronchodilation with tiotropium/olodaterol as first-line maintenance treatment in patients with COPD. ClinicalTrials.gov: TONADO® 1 and 2 (NCT01431274 and NCT01431287, registered 8 September 2011) and OTEMTO® 1 and 2 (NCT01964352 and NCT02006732, registered 14 October 2013). People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often have problems breathing, which can make it difficult to carry out daily physical tasks. Bronchodilators are a type of medication that relax the muscles in the lungs and widen airways, making it easier to breathe. Evidence suggests that using a combination of two different bronchodilators is more effective than using one bronchodilator on its own. In this article, we look at four large studies that compared the effects of at least 12 weeks of treatment with two bronchodilators (tiotropium/olodaterol) with tiotropium on its own in people who had not received any previous medication for their COPD. The results suggest that people who were treated with tiotropium and olodaterol together had significantly better improvements in lung function, quality of life and breathlessness after 12 weeks than those taking tiotropium alone, without compromising safety. Overall, people treated with tiotropium/olodaterol were 60% more likely to experience a meaningful improvement in at least one of these areas compared with those on tiotropium alone. These results support the use of tiotropium and olodaterol together as a first medication for COPD.