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Clinical Trial
. 2021 Nov 15;204(10):1143-1152.
doi: 10.1164/rccm.202102-0289OC.

Effects of Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-Acting β2-Agonist Combination on the Airway Microbiome of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (DISARM)

Fernando Sergio Leitao Filho  1   2 , Hiroto Takiguchi  1   2   3 , Kentaro Akata  1   2   4 , Seung Won Ra  1   2   5 , Ji-Yong Moon  1   2   6 , Hyun Kuk Kim  1   2   7 , Yuji Cho  1   2   8 , Kei Yamasaki  1   2   9 , Stephen Milne  1   2   10 , Julia Yang  1   2 , Cheng Wei Tony Yang  1   2 , Xuan Li  1   2 , Corey Nislow  11 , Stephan F van Eeden  1   2 , Tawimas Shaipanich  1   2 , Stephen Lam  1   2   12 , Janice M Leung  1   2 , Don D Sin  1   2
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Effects of Inhaled Corticosteroid/Long-Acting β2-Agonist Combination on the Airway Microbiome of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial (DISARM)

Fernando Sergio Leitao Filho et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. .

Abstract

Rationale: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are commonly prescribed with long-acting β2-agonists (LABA) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To date, the effects of ICS therapy on the airway microbiome in COPD are unknown. Objectives: To determine the effects of ICS/LABA on the airway microbiome of patients with COPD. Methods: Clinically stable patients with COPD were enrolled into a 4-week run-in period during which ICS was discontinued and all participants were placed on formoterol (Form) 12 μg twice daily (BID). The participants were then randomized to budesonide/formoterol (Bud + Form; 400/12 μg BID), fluticasone/salmeterol (Flu + Salm; 250/50 μg BID), or formoterol only (12 μg BID) for 12 weeks. Participants underwent bronchoscopy before and after the 12-week treatment period. The primary endpoint was the comparison of changes in the airway microbiome over the trial period between the ICS/LABA and LABA-only groups. Measurements and Main Results: Sixty-three participants underwent randomization: Bud + Form (n = 20), Flu + Salm (n = 22), and Form (n = 21) groups; 56 subjects completed all visits. After the treatment period, changes in α-diversity were significantly different across groups, especially between Flu + Salm and Form groups (Δrichness: P = 0.02; ΔShannon index: P = 0.03). Longitudinal differential abundance analyses revealed more pronounced microbial shifts from baseline in the fluticasone (vs. budesonide or formoterol only) group. Conclusions: Fluticasone-based ICS/LABA therapy modifies the airway microbiome in COPD, leading to a relative reduction in α-diversity and a greater number of bacterial taxa changes. These data may have implications in patients who develop pneumonia on ICS. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02833480).

Keywords: 16S rRNA gene; COPD; airway microbiome; inhaled corticosteroids.

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