Antibiotic treatment for patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Although respiratory tract infection is a significant factor that triggers exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the benefit of antibiotics for patients with COPD exacerbation remains controversial. It is necessary to evaluate the efficacy and safety of antibiotics versus placebo in such patients.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of antibiotics versus placebo for the treatment of COPD exacerbation, and compared the frequencies of treatment failure, mortality, and adverse events between patients treated with antibiotics and those treated with placebo.

Results

A total of six studies were included in this meta-analysis. The frequency of treatment failure was significantly lower in the antibiotic-treated patients compared to the placebo-treated patients (odds ratios [OR] 0.50, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.35–0.71, p = 0.0001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in mortality (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.05–3.76, p = 0.45) or frequency of adverse events (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.75–1.48, p = 0.78).

Conclusion

In the current systematic review and meta-analysis, we found that antibiotics were superior to placebo in patients with exacerbated COPD, as shown by the lower treatment failure rate.