Published: 31 August 2021

Authors: Fernando Sergio Leitao Filho, Hiroto Takiguchi, Kentaro Akata, Seung Won Ra, Ji-Yong Moon, Hyun Kuk Kim, Yuji Cho, Kei Yamasaki, Stephen Milne, Julia Yang, Cheng Wei Tony Yang, Xuan Li, Corey Nislow, Stephan F. van Eeden, Tawimas Shaipanich, Stephen Lam, Janice M. Leung, and Don D. Sin

Source: This abstract has been sourced from NZ Respiratory Research Review Issue 198

    Abstract

    Rationale: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are commonly prescribed with long-acting β2-agonists (LABA) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To date, the effects of ICS therapy on the airway microbiome in COPD are unknown.

    Objectives: To determine the effects of ICS/LABA on the airway microbiome of patients with COPD.

    Methods: Clinically stable patients with COPD were enrolled into a 4-week run-in period during which ICS was discontinued and all participants were placed on formoterol (Form) 12 μg twice daily (BID). The participants were then randomized to budesonide/formoterol (Bud + Form; 400/12 μg BID), fluticasone/salmeterol (Flu + Salm; 250/50 μg BID), or formoterol only (12 μg BID) for 12 weeks. Participants underwent bronchoscopy before and after the 12-week treatment period. The primary endpoint was the comparison of changes in the airway microbiome over the trial period between the ICS/LABA and LABA-only groups.

    Measurements and Main Results: Sixty-three participants underwent randomization: Bud + Form (n = 20), Flu + Salm (n = 22), and Form (n = 21) groups; 56 subjects completed all visits. After the treatment period, changes in α-diversity were significantly different across groups, especially between Flu + Salm and Form groups (Δrichness: P = 0.02; ΔShannon index: P = 0.03). Longitudinal differential abundance analyses revealed more pronounced microbial shifts from baseline in the fluticasone (vs. budesonide or formoterol only) group.

    Conclusions: Fluticasone-based ICS/LABA therapy modifies the airway microbiome in COPD, leading to a relative reduction in α-diversity and a greater number of bacterial taxa changes. These data may have implications in patients who develop pneumonia on ICS.

    Link to abstract

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