Jump to full article: MedPage Today, 2009-11-05
Author: Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Intro: Much as it aided the general population of smokers, varenicline (Chantix) helped patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) quit too, a randomized trial showed.
From weeks nine to 12 of treatment, 42.3% of those taking varenicline remained abstinent, compared with 8.8% of those taking placebo (P<0.001), Donald Tashkin, MD, of the University of California Los Angeles, reported at the American College of Chest Physicians meeting here.
Also, a significantly greater number of patients taking varenicline remained abstinent from weeks nine through 52 (18.6% versus 5.6%, P<0.001), a secondary endpoint.
The magnitude of these benefits is similar to those observed in the pivotal trials of varenicline used in the FDA approval process, Tashkin said.
Action Points
* Explain to interested patients that varenicline is one of two smoking-cessation medications recommended as first-line treatment for helping patients quit.
* Explain that this study showed that patients with COPD who smoked derived the same benefits from varenicline -- with similar side effects -- as the general population of smokers.
* Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
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