Authors : Ashish Goyal
DOI : 10.18231/2581-4222.2018.0049
Volume : 3
Issue : 4
Year : 0
Page No : 203-209
Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is the sudden worsening in airway function and respiratory symptoms in patients with COPD which range from self-limited diseases to episodes of florid respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. An average patient with COPD might experience 2 episodes of AECOPD per year and 10% of these episodes require hospitalization. Pidotimod, an immunostimulant, has shown promising results in conditions with underlying cause of suppressed cell-mediated immunity like chronic bronchitis and recurrent respiratory tract infection (RRTI). The current study evaluated the safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness of Pidotimod in adult Indian patients with COPD as an add-on drug in maintenance therapy of acute exacerbations. In this prospective, open label, single arm, single centre study, Pidotimod was administered as an add-on therapy for 2 months in 114 patients (? 18 years and ? 55years; mean age: 59.51± 8.66 years) with COPD having experienced two or more exacerbation that required antibiotics. The study comprised of screening visit, enrolment and 3 follow-up visits (at the end of 2, 6 and 12 months). Of the 111 patients at baseline, only one patient had an AECB episode at 2 and 6 months. At the end of 12 months, none of the patient had an AECB. Only one subject was prescribed with antibiotic treatment at the end of 2 and 6 months. No episodes of either exacerbations or antibiotic prescription at the end of 12 months were reported. A significant reduction (p<0>
Keywords: Immunostimulant, Pidotimod, Acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB), Cost-analysis, Respiratory infections.