Inhaled Long-acting Bronchodilators With or Without Inhaled Glucocorticosteroids for Preventing Hospitalizations and Death in Elderly Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease occurs mainly in the elderly and has important comorbidities, particularly cardiovascular, which increase its severity. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affects 5% of people globally, increasing to 10% in the elderly. According to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), there were 384 million cases of COPD in 2010, with a global prevalence of 12% (www.who.int). Deaths due to COPD are 3 million/year globally (GOLD 2018) and \>20,000/year in Italy. The investigator speculated that multimorbid elderly COPD patients recently hospitalized due to an acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) and who have concomitant cardiovascular disease may have fewer re-hospitalizations and increased survival in the following year if treated with LABD+ICS rather than with LABD alone. The aim of this study is to examine the efficacy and safety of currently recommended and prescribed inhalation therapies to elderly, frail and multimorbid COPD patients with a recent hospitalization due to an AECOPD. The study involves a group of patients who have never before been selected for a clinical trial and who represent the 5th most common cause of hospitalization and the 3rd most common cause of death in Italy.