ReviewInternational journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease2013
The safety of long-acting β2-agonists in the treatment of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Review in International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Romanian clinical guideline for diagnosis and treatment of COPD.The Journal of international medical research · 2020Guideline
- Once-daily fluticasone furoate/vilanterol 100/25 mcg versus twice daily combination therapies in COPD - mixed treatment comparisons of clinical efficacy.Respiratory research · 2015Pooled it
- Inhaled Long-Acting β2-Agonists Do Not Increase Fatal Cardiovascular Adverse Events in COPD: A Meta-Analysis.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Long-acting inhaled therapy (beta-agonists, anticholinergics and steroids) for COPD: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Comprehensive assessment of the safety of olodaterol 5 µg in the RespimatNPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2017Trial
- Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of once-daily abediterol in patients with stable, persistent asthma: a Phase II, randomized, 7-day, crossover study.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2017Trial
- V0162 a new long-acting bronchodilator for treatment of chronic obstructive lung diseases: preclinical and clinical results.Respiratory research · 2015Trial
- Effect of indacaterol on lung deflation improves cardiac performance in hyperinflated COPD patients: an interventional, randomized, double-blind clinical trial.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2015Trial
- One-year safety and efficacy study of arformoterol tartrate in patients with moderate to severe COPD.Chest · 2014Trial
- Long-term safety and efficacy of formoterol fumarate inhalation solution in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseTrial
- Pulmonary Emphysema: Current Understanding of Disease Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Approaches.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Genomic crosstalk between carbachol, a muscarinic receptor agonist, and the long-acting βThe Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2025Article
- Short-Term Pulmonary Rehabilitation Among Post-Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients During Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.Thoracic research and practice · 2023Article
- Study on the Management of the Health Status of Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Treated with Double Bronchodilator.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Article
- COPD treatment choices based on blood eosinophils: are we there yet?Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2019Review
- Challenges of Treating Acute Heart Failure in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Cardiac failure review · 2017Article
- Beta2-Agonist Doping Control and Optical Isomer Challenges.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2016Article
- The relationship between perioperative administration of inhaled corticosteroid and postoperative respiratory complications after pulmonary resection for non-small-cell lung cancer in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · 2015Observational
- Diagnosis and pharmacotherapy of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the finnish guidelines.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2015Review
- COPD: maximization of bronchodilation.Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInhaled long-acting bronchodilators are the mainstay of pharmacotherapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Both the twice-daily long-acting β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists (LABAs) salmeterol and formoterol and the once-daily LABA indacaterol are indicated for use in COPD. This review examines current evidence for the safety of LABAs in COPD, focusing on their effect on exacerbations and deaths.
methodsWe searched PubMed for placebo-controlled studies evaluating long-term (≥24 weeks) use of formoterol, salmeterol, or indacaterol in patients with stable COPD, published between January 1990 and September 2012. We summarized data relating to exacerbations and adverse events, particularly events related to COPD.
resultsFrom 20 studies examined (8774 LABA-treated patients), there was no evidence of an association between LABA treatment and increased exacerbations, COPD-related adverse events, or deaths. Where analyzed as an efficacy outcome, LABA treatment was generally associated with significant or numerical reductions in COPD exacerbations compared with placebo. Incidences of COPD-related adverse events were similar for active and placebo treatments. The incidence of adverse events typically associated with the β(2)-agonist drug class such as skeletal muscle tremors and palpitations was low (often <1% of patients), and there were no reports of increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmias. The systemic effects of β(2)-adrenoceptor stimulation, such as high glucose and potassium levels, were considered minor.
conclusionCurrent evidence from clinical studies of the safety and tolerability profile of LABAs supports their long-term use in COPD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.