Background: This retrospective cohort study compared the risks of exacerbations and COPD-related healthcare\r\ncosts between patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) initiating tiotropium (TIO) alone and\r\npatients initiating triple therapy with fluticasone-salmeterol combination (FSC) added to TIO.\r\nMethods: Managed-care enrollees who had an index event of = 1 pharmacy claim for TIO during the study period\r\n(January 1, 2003-April 30, 2008) and met other eligibility criteria were categorized into one of two cohorts\r\ndepending on their medication use. Patients in the TIO+FSC cohort had combination therapy with TIO and FSC,\r\ndefined as having an FSC claim on the same date as the TIO claim. Patients in the TIO cohort had no such FSC\r\nuse. The risks of COPD exacerbations and healthcare costs were compared between cohorts during 1 year of\r\nfollow-up.\r\nResults: The sample comprised 3333 patients (n = 852 TIO+FSC cohort, n = 2481 TIO cohort). Triple therapy with\r\nFSC added to TIO compared with TIO monotherapy was associated with significant reductions in the adjusted risks\r\nof moderate exacerbation (hazard ratio 0.772; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.641, 0.930) and any exacerbation\r\n(hazard ratio 0.763; 95% CI 0.646, 0.949) and a nonsignificant reduction in COPD-related adjusted monthly medical\r\ncosts.\r\nConclusions: Triple therapy with FSC added to TIO compared with TIO monotherapy was associated with\r\nsignificant reductions in the adjusted risks of moderate exacerbation and any exacerbation over a follow-up period\r\nof up to 1 year. These improvements were gained with triple therapy at roughly equal cost of that of TIO alone.
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