[COPD]
A recent clinical trial demonstrated better preservation of PFT results after 1 year of treatment with combined oral prednisone (initiated at 0.5 mg/kg ideal body weight per day during the first month and tapered to a maintenance dose of 0.1 to 0.2 mg/kg of ideal body weight per day, or ≈10 mg/day, over the subsequent 3 to 4 months), azathioprine (maintenance dose of 2 mg/kg of ideal body weight per day, or 100 to 150 mg/day), and N-acetylcysteine (600 mg three times daily) than with prednisone and azathioprine.
Several new agents, including etanercept, pirfenidone, bosentan, N-acetylcysteine, and agents to block/modulate specific cellular, cytokine, molecular, and oxidant processes implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis and vascular modeling, are currently under investigation.
[±â°üÁöÈ®ÀåÁõ]
The mucolytic agent acetylcysteine is beneficial in some patients when delivered by nebulization.