QUALITY-OF-LIFE CHANGES IN COPD PATIENTS TREATED WITH SALMETEROL

Changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were evaluated in pa tients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) following tre atment with placebo, salmeterol 50 mu g twice a day or 100 mu g twice a day by metered-dose inhaler. Patients completed the disease-specific St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the Medical Outcome s Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) at baseline and after 16 wk of treatment . Data from 283 patients (95 patients in the placebo group and 94 in e ach salmeterol group) were available for HRQoL analysis. Apart from a small difference in ages, all treatment groups were well matched at ba seline in terms of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) and HRQoL scores. Compared with placebo, salmeterol 50 mu g twice a day w as associated with significant improvements in SGRQ ''Total'' and ''Im pacts'' scores which exceeded the threshold for a clinically significa nt change, This was not seen with salmeterol 100 mu g twice a day. Cha nges in SGRQ and SF-36 scores correlated. They also showed a weak but significant relationship with FEV(1). This study has shown that a mode st change in lung function may be associated with clinically significa nt gain in health and well-being in COPD patients.