Efficacy and Safety of Oral Corticosteroids to Treat Outpatients with Acute Exacerbations of COPD in Primary Care: a Multicentre Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Study

Aim: To compare prednisone and placebo for the treatment of outpatients treated for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a primary care setting.

Methods: A multicentre, parallel, double-blind, pragmatic randomised controlled trial was performed in France. A total of 66 general practitioners included patients aged ≥40 years with cumulative smoking of ≥10 pack-years and a diagnosis of certain or likely acute exacerbation of COPD. Oral prednisone (40 mg) or placebo were administered daily for 5 days. The main outcome was treatment failure at 8 weeks, defined as a composite criterion based on the occurrence of at least one of the following: unplanned visit to an emergency department or to a practitioner in the ambulatory setting, hospital admission or death. The planned sample size was 202 patients per group.

Results: 175 patients were included from February 2015 to May 2017 (43% of the planned sample). All-cause 8-week treatment failure rate was 42.0% in the prednisone group and 34.5% in the placebo group (relative risk 1.22, 95% CI 0.87-1.69, p=0.25). Respiratory-related 8-week treatment failure rate was 27.6% in the prednisone group and 13.6% in the placebo group (relative risk 2.00, 95% CI 1.15-3.57, p=0.015).

Conclusion: Although the planned sample size was not achieved, the study does not suggest that oral corticosteroids are more effective than placebo for the treatment of an acute exacerbation of COPD in a primary care setting.