OVERVIEW
The purpose of this page is to take the landmark TORCH study titled “Salmeterol And Fluticasone Propionate And Survival In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease” (Calverley et al. 2007, The New England Journal Of Medicine) and distill down its major takeaways for clinical practice.
WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS STUDY?
At the time of this study, both long-acting beta-agonists (like Salmeterol) and inhaled corticosteroids (like Fluticasone) were used for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), however their effect on patient survival was a mystery.
This study compared 4 treatment groups to assess for their efficacy on patient survival/management of COPD:
- Placebo
- Salmeterol alone
- Fluticasone alone
- Combination (Salmeterol and Fluticasone)
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR TAKEAWAYS?
Overall there were a few things that this study highlighted in its results/conclusion.
- Combination therapy did not significantly reduce mortality when compared to placebo
- Combination therapy did significantly rescue the risk of COPD exacerbations
Page Updated: 08.16.2016