The frequency of exacerbations in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be reduced by as much as 35 percent with the use of a macrolide antibiotic in the long term, as per a London-based study.

It was remarked by lead author of the paper, Terence A. R. Seemungal, Ph.D., and Jadwiga Wedzicha, M.D., principle investigator that the study results suggest a significant impact of low-dose macrolide therapy, minimizing frequency of exacerbation, and severity with moderate to severe COPD.

From News-Medical.Net:

While their findings are encouraging, Dr. Seemungal points out that they must be put in context with future findings. Furthermore, the threat of growing antibiotic resistance resulting from widespread prophylactic use of erythromycin is not a trivial concern. “In this scenario, substantial, widespread emergence of macrolide bacterial resistance is virtually foreordained, with attendant reduction in the antimicrobial usefulness of this drug class,” wrote Ken M. Kunisaki, M.D. and Denise E. Niewoehner, M.D., of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis, in the accompanying editorial. “Balancing benefit against harm could pose a dilemma for which there might be no clear answers.”

Moreover, not all of the study patients were treated with guideline-recommended therapy, such as inhaled corticosteroids or inhaled long-acting bronchodilators, which have been shown to decrease exacerbation frequency. The degree of added benefit of erythromycin over and above standard therapy will require further study.

“Observations that any intervention might decrease the frequency and severity of acute exacerbations in COPD present considerable public health implications,” observed John Heffner, M.D., past president of the ATS. “Exacerbations occur about once a year among patients with moderate to severe COPD and account for more than $30 billion dollars in direct and indirect costs annually in the United States alone.”

The results of this study were published in the first issue for December of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, which is published by the American Thoracic Society.

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