The benefits of inhaled corticosteroids in treating COPD continue to outweigh the increased risk for pneumonia, according to European Union (EU) regulators.
Furthermore, this risk appears to be the same for all drugs in this class.
Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic for years have noted the increased risk for pneumonia for inhaled corticosteroids such as fluticasone and budesonide. In May 2015, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that new studies of these drugs as well as meta-analyses of older ones warranted a “thorough review” of the risk for pneumonia in COPD treatment. That job fell to the agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC).
Corticosteroid Benefits for COPD Outweigh Pneumonia Risk
