Pharmacotherapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a multiple treatment comparison meta-analysis

Most patients with moderate and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receive long-acting bronchodilators (LABA) for symptom control. It is, however, unclear if and what drug treatments should be added to LABAs to reduce exacerbations, which is an important goal of COPD management. Since current guidelines cannot make strong recommendations yet, our aim was to determine the relative efficacy of existing treatments and combinations to reduce the risk for COPD exacerbations.