COPD patients using the smoking cessation drugs Chantix (varenicline, Pfizer) and Bupropion “showed no increased risk for adverse events compared to those who used nicotine replacement therapy,” according to a study published in Thorax reported by Healio.
In an analysis of 14,350 COPD patients across England, 10,426 patients received nicotine replacement therapy, 3,574 received Chantix, and 350 patients had received bupropion.
Patients were followed for 6 months to compare incident CVD events such as peripheral vascular disease, cardiac arrhythmias, ischemic heart disease, stroke and heart failure, as well as neuropsychiatric events such as depression and self-harm.
Researchers found that neither bupropion nor varenicline showed an increased risk for adverse events compared with nicotine replacement therapy.
