Immediate salbutamol responsiveness does not predict long-term benefits of indacaterol in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between immediate responsiveness with the short-acting β₂-agonist salbutamol and effects of treatment with the ultra-long-acting β₂-agonist indacaterol in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The REVERBREZ study was a phase IV, multicentre, open-label study in which patients with moderate-to-severe COPD received indacaterol 150 μg once-daily for 5 months. The primary endpoint was the correlation between immediate response of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁) post-inhalation of salbutamol (400 μg) at study entry and the change from baseline in trough FEV₁ after 1 month of indacaterol. Secondary endpoints included dyspnoea measured by the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) grade and health-related quality of life measured by the clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ).

Of the 602 patients enrolled from 177 centres in France, 543 patients received at least one indacaterol dose, 512 patients completed 1 month of indacaterol treatment (primary endpoint), and 400 patients completed 5 months of treatment. At study entry, mean FEV₁ values before and after salbutamol inhalation were 1.54 ± 0.50 L and 1.65 ± 0.53 L, respectively. Based on the magnitude of an immediate response of FEV₁ after salbutamol inhalation at study entry, patients were classified into reversible (Rv, ≥12% and ≥200 mL from pre-salbutamol value; n = 106) and non-reversible (NRv, <12% or <200 mL from pre-salbutamol value; n = 431) groups. After 1 month of indacaterol treatment, mean absolute and relative difference in trough FEV₁ were 100 mL and 9%, respectively. No significant correlation was found between the immediate FEV₁ response to salbutamol at study entry and change from baseline in trough FEV₁ after 1 month of indacaterol treatment (correlation coefficient = 0.056 [95% CI;−0.032, 0.144] for absolute response and 0.028 [95% CI;−0.06, 0.116] for relative response). At all subsequent visits, mMRC and CCQ scores, and FEV₁ improved from baseline with no significant difference between the Rv and NRv groups.

Immediate FEV₁ response to salbutamol did not predict the long-term benefits observed with indacaterol treatment in patients with COPD. Patients considered reversible or non-reversible to salbutamol showed comparable improvements in lung function, dyspnoea and health-related quality of life.

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01272362. Date: January 5, 2011