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The following is a summary of “Clinical Effectiveness and Safety of Dupilumab in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 7-Year Population-based Cohort Study,” published in the October 2024 issue of Allergy & Immunology by Sun et al.
Previous trials demonstrated the efficacy of dupilumab in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receiving triple therapy over 52 weeks.
Researchers conducted a prospective study to assess the long-term clinical effectiveness of dupilumab in patients with COPD.
They included U.S. patients with COPD from April 2017 to August 2024 who initiated dupilumab or long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) therapies. Patients with asthma or lung cancer were excluded. They measured the risk of outcomes after starting dupilumab vs LABA-containing therapies.
The results showed that 1,521 dupilumab initiators and 1,521 propensity score-matched patients receiving LABA-based therapies had lower all-cause mortality (HR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.43-0.65), fewer emergency visits (HR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69-0.89), and reduced acute exacerbation rates (HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.53-0.65). Dupilumab recipients also required fewer short-acting β2-agonists (HR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.43-0.52) and short-acting muscarinic antagonists (HR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.37-0.49). Additionally, dupilumab decreased subsequent pneumonia (HR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.50-0.86) and comorbidities such as new-onset heart failure (HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.53-0.90) and new-onset anxiety (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.53-0.93).
Investigators concluded that dupilumab was associated with lower mortality, fewer emergency visits, and reduced respiratory symptoms in patients with COPD. Further research was needed to confirm its effectiveness across various severities.
Source: jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(24)01021-2/abstract
