Oral corticosteroid trials in the management of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Open Access
- 1 July 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in QJM: An International Journal of Medicine
- Vol. 92 (7) , 395-400
- https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/92.7.395
Abstract
Although recent guidelines for managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) recommend a trial of oral corticosteroids in the initial assessment, its prognostic value remains unclear. We prospectively studied 127 adults (64% men) with stable COPD (FEV1/FVC pp1 over 1 year. Oral prednisolone responders had higher FEV1 at 1 year (pp<0.02). In COPD, corticosteroid trials contribute information additional to that gained from nebulized bronchodilator reversibility testing. Patients with a positive response to a corticosteroid trial are more likely to have improved symptomatically and spirometrically at 1 year.Keywords
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