The Aerobika device significantly reduced flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the 30 days after patients had emergency room visits or were re-hospitalized after a previous flare-up, a study shows.
The research, “A Real-World Study of 30-Day Exacerbation Outcomes in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Patients Managed with Aerobika OPEP, was published in Pulmonary Therapy.
Aerobika provides a direct aerosol pathway for patients using a nebulizer, which delivers medicine as a mist to the lungs. It is available through Monaghan Medical Corporation in the United States, Canada and Mexico and Trudell Medical International in select European countries.
The device creates intermittent resistance when a patient exhales. This pressure-oscillation dynamic expands airways, helps expel mucus to upper airways, and improves drug delivery.
Researchers looked at 810 COPD patients diagnosed with chronic bronchitis. Half, or 405, received an Aerobika to use. The other half were controls.
Data on the patients was collected from the U.S. Hospital Charge Detail Master (CDM) claims database between September 2013 and August 2015.
Significantly fewer patients using an Aerobika experienced moderate to severe flare-ups, which medical professionals call exacerbations. The figures were 18.5 percent for Aerobika users versus 25.7 percent for controls. The same pattern was true with severe exacerbations — 13.5 percent of Aerobika users versus 19 percent of controls.
The study provided the first real-world evidence of Aerobika’s ability to reduce exacerbation-related emergency room visits and hospital re-admissions. This is particularly significant because one in five patients discharged from a hospital after an exacerbation is re-admitted within 30 days.
“This is the first study to evaluate the benefits of any OPEP [oscillating positive expiratory pressure] in a real-world setting. It provides encouraging evidence that the Aerobika device can help reduce recurrence of exacerbations in high-risk patients over the crucial early 30-day period,” Michael Bauer, a pulmonary physician in Cooperstown, New York, said in a press release.
“During an exacerbation, airways are compromised by (among other factors) inflammation and mucus build-up. This can continue to disrupt ventilation mechanics and lung function after the event, and lead to prolonged respiratory impairment. The Aerobika device, with its proprietary mechanism of action, helps stent open and clear excess mucus from the upper airways, and may also aid drug deposition, providing a potential mechanism of protection from exacerbations,” added Dominic Coppolo, vice president of clinical strategy and development at Monaghan.
Exacerbation management has been internationally recognized as a priority COPD treatment goal. That objective is particularly relevant because current estimates are for a 150 to 220 percent increase in COPD cases from 2010 to 2030.