Combination inhalers with two long-acting bronchodilators should be the preferred treatment option for patients with COPD, suggest results from a large US study.

Researchers say dual therapy with a long-acting muscarinic agonist (LAMA) and LABA leads to superior clinical outcomes compared with combined ICS and LABA.

Overall, there was an 8% reduction in the rate of first moderate or severe COPD exacerbations and a 20% lower rate of first pneumonia hospitalisations with LAMA–LABA therapy.

As part of the 1:1 matched cohort study, doctors from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston compared outcomes among 60,000 affected patients (mean age 70) from an insurance claims database who filled a new script for a LAMA–LABA or ICS–LABA inhaler between 2014 and 2019.