A recent study showed no difference in COPD-related exacerbations or pneumonia events between patients receiving budesonide/formoterol combination (BFC) and fluticasone/salmeterol combination (FSC) in patients new to inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting ?2-agonist combinations (ICS/LABA) treatment.

The study’s primary efficacy endpoint was COPD exacerbation rate, and the secondary efficacy endpoints were the exacerbation rates by event type and healthcare resource utilization. Pneumonia objectives included rates of any diagnosis of pneumonia and pneumonia-related healthcare utilization resource.

Matching of the identified 3,788 BFC and 6,439 FSC patients resulted in 3,697 patients in each of the study groups.

The results revealed no differences between patients initiating BFC or FSC in a real-world setting in terms of rates of exacerbations, measured by COPD-related inpatient hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and outpatient visits with antibiotic/OCS medication use.

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