Fig. 2. Clinical process of CT-based AI models applied to lung cancer...
Perceptions Of COPD Exacerbations And Communication Gaps
Photo Credit: iStock.Com/magicmine
Many individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease describe exacerbations in personal, varied terms, revealing a need for clearer, patient-centered communication in care.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study published in June 2025 issue of International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease to explore how individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) perceived and communicated their experiences of exacerbations.
They carried out a cross-sectional survey designed through a targeted literature review, incorporating input from clinicians and individuals diagnosed with COPD. The survey included 1 open-ended question. Participants were recruited from online consumer research panels across 6 countries: Brazil, China, France, Spain, UK, and the United States (Brazil, China, France, Spain, the UK, and the USA). All recruited individuals had a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Survey responses were summarized both overall and by specific subgroups. Thematic analysis was applied to open-ended responses.
The results showed that among 857 respondents (median age 58 years; 50.5% male), 623 individuals (72.7%) experienced shortness of breath daily. A total of 417 individuals (48.7%) reported that their daily symptoms changed "a little." The open-ended responses described exacerbations through personal experiences of symptoms, triggers, management strategies, and emotions without a consistent preferred term. Among 671 respondents (78.3%) who had ever experienced an exacerbation, 52.8% identified it as symptoms being "worse than usual," and 50.1% linked it to having "more trouble than usual with daily activities."
Investigators concluded that a gap existed between how individuals with COPD described exacerbations and clinical terminology, suggesting that plain language tools could have supported better communication with healthcare providers.
Source: dovepress.Com/how-people-with-copd-perceive-and-communicate-exacerbations-a-multicou-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-COPD
Lung Disease News -- ScienceDaily
Dec. 16, 2024 — Craniopharyngiomas are brain tumors that negatively impact the hormonal function of the nearby pituitary. The tumor location often prevents necessary surgical intervention. Alternative ...
Dec. 10, 2024 — Researchers found that endothelial cells lining the veins in lungs contribute to repair of blood vessels after lung ...
Nov. 27, 2024 — A recent trial finds an injection given during some asthma and COPD attacks is more effective than the current treatment of steroid tablets, reducing the need for further treatment by ...
Nov. 27, 2024 — In patients with long COVID, lower pulmonary gas exchange may be associated with impaired cognitive function, according to a new ...
Nov. 20, 2024 — A new study shows that a form of vitamin B3 can reduce lung inflammation in COPD patients. The researchers hope it will pave the way for new treatment ...
Nov. 19, 2024 — Scientists discovered a brain circuit that allows us to regulate voluntary breathing, which connects the brain's emotional and behavioral cortical area to its automatic breathing brainstem area. ...
Nov. 13, 2024 — Researchers have developed an AI powered model that -- in 10 seconds -- can determine during surgery if any part of a cancerous brain tumor that could be removed remains.The technology, called ...
Oct. 31, 2024 — Researchers have developed a compact, wearable ultrasound device that monitors muscle activity. Attachable to the skin with an adhesive and
Oct. 30, 2024 — A new analysis has revealed detailed 3D maps of the internal structures of multiple tumor types. These cancer atlases reveal how different tumor cells -- and the cells of a tumor's surrounding ...
Oct. 30, 2024 — Metastasis remains the primary challenge to reducing cancer deaths worldwide. A study is providing insights that researchers say point to therapeutic ...
Oct. 30, 2024 — New research into the long-term dynamics of transplanted stem cells in a patient's body explains how age affects stem cell survival and immune diversity, offering insights that could make ...
Oct. 29, 2024 — Doctors struggle to accurately predict pneumonia patients' prognoses and determine the most effective treatments. Now, by applying a sophisticated machine-learning approach to electronic health ...
Oct. 28, 2024 — Medical scientists involved in a large international study have identified new signs of kidney transplant rejection that could lead to more precise diagnosis and treatment for transplant recipients. ...
Oct. 1, 2024 — A research team systematically analyzed 40 empirical studies, the majority of which had found that outdoor air pollution is associated with differences in children's brains. These differences ...
Sep. 30, 2024 — Heart transplant patients who live in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas are more likely to experience post-surgical complications and die within five years than patients who live in more ...
Sep. 25, 2024 — Intermittent hypoxia caused by obstructive sleep apnea increased the susceptibility of mice to develop abdominal aortic aneurysms, researchers report in a new ...
Sep. 10, 2024 — A scientific team has created a preclinical blood test to identify adults most likely to develop severe respiratory conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The blood test ...
Sep. 4, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a pathway by which immune cells prevent the lungs' protective barrier from healing after viral infections like ...
Sep. 4, 2024 — The new approach marks a major step forward in the design of AI tools to support clinical decisions in cancer diagnosis, therapy. The model uses features of a tumor's microenvironment to ...
Aug. 21, 2024 — In preclinical models, the inhalation of a mixture of living Lactobacilli bacteria attenuated pulmonary inflammation and improved lung function and structure for the chronic lung diseases ...
Q&A: Mepolizumab Marks Second Biologic Approved For COPD With Eosinophilic Phenotype
Add topic to email alerts
Receive an email when new articles are posted on
Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . Subscribe We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.Com.Back to Healio
Key takeaways:The FDA recently approved mepolizumab for treating adults with inadequately controlled COPD and an eosinophilic phenotype, marking the second biologic approved as an add-on maintenance treatment in this patient population.
Notably, the first FDA-approved biologic was dupilumab (Dupixent; Regeneron, Sanofi), and this approval took place less than 1 year ago in September 2024.
The decision on mepolizumab (Nucala, GSK) was, in part, based on findings from two randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 3 trials, both published in The New England Journal of Medicine, according to a press release from GSK. The MATINEE trial was published in 2025, whereas the METREX trial was published in 2017.
To learn more about the current standard of care for patients with COPD, mepolizumab and the MATINEE and METREX trials, Healio asked the following questions of Kaivan Khavandi, MBChB (MD), MRes, MRCP, PhD, MBA, senior vice president and global head of respiratory, immunology and inflammation research and development at GSK.
Healio: What is the current standard of care for COPD?
Khavandi: Inhaled therapy — viewed as a standard of care — provides symptom relief to patients and can also reduce exacerbation rate. However, more than 40% of patients with COPD continue to experience exacerbations.
Around one in five patients who experience an exacerbation require hospitalization. If hospitalized, one in 10 patients will die during the stay, up to one in four over the next year, and half will lose their lives within 5 years.
Finding new ways to reduce exacerbations is crucial to reduce the burden of the disease on patients, society and health care systems.
Healio: How does mepolizumab improve upon these therapies?
Khavandi: Approximately 70% of COPD patients in the U.S. Who are inadequately controlled on inhaled therapy have a blood eosinophil count (BEC) 150 cells/μL and above. BEC is captured by a simple blood test that measures levels of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell that is a biomarker for type 2 inflammation and indicates a patient's risk for exacerbation.
In both MATINEE and METREX trials, mepolizumab demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the annualized rate of moderate or severe exacerbations compared with placebo when added to inhaled therapy in a wide COPD population with an eosinophilic phenotype, including (in METREX) patients characterized by BEC starting at 150 cells/μL.
In the FDA's approval for COPD, it is specified that mepolizumab was studied in a COPD population with a BEC starting at 150 cells/μL.
Healio: Are there any findings from the MATINEE and METREX trials that you would like to highlight?
Khavandi: Both trials included patients with or without chronic bronchitis. MATINEE and METREX recruited a wide spectrum of patients with type 2 inflammation, characterized by BEC and including those with chronic bronchitis, emphysema-only or a combination of both, which encompasses some of the most severe and difficult-to-treat patients as categorized in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines. It was not a requirement for patients to have chronic bronchitis to be included in the trials. Additionally, this study recruited patients with the very severe airflow obstruction (GOLD 4).
Further, MATINEE data included reduction of exacerbations leading to hospitalization and/or ED visits. In a secondary endpoint in MATINEE, the annualized rate of COPD exacerbations requiring ED visits and/or hospitalization was reduced in the mepolizumab group when compared with placebo [not statistically significant due to a failure higher in the pre-defined statistical testing hierarchy]).
Healio: How would you characterize the safety profile of mepolizumab in these trials?
Khavandi: The approval of mepolizumab for COPD patients is supported by a robust safety profile from phase 3 trials that is reinforced by over a decade of physician experience and real-world evidence across four other indications. In both MATINEE and METREX, the frequency of adverse events and serious adverse events was similar between placebo and mepolizumab groups.
Healio: What is next in this research and rollout?
Khavandi: Nucala is already available in the U.S., as it is indicated for use in four other conditions. HCPs are able to prescribe to patients with inadequately controlled COPD with an eosinophilic phenotype, as appropriate. Regulatory submissions are underway globally. I'm looking forward to continuing to advance the science of IL-5 inhibition as an important pathway involved in type 2 inflammation, driving various respiratory diseases.
For more information:Please reach out to pulmonology@healio.Com.
References:Add topic to email alerts
Receive an email when new articles are posted on
Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . Subscribe We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.Com.Back to Healio
Comments
Post a Comment