Short-term treatment of irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide decreases plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels in subjects with acute exacerbations of COPD

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at BNP (Nesiritide).

The researchers aimed to assess the effects of short-term treatment of irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide on plasma NT-proBNP levels and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in subjects with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD).

Why It Was Studied

Plasma levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are elevated in subjects with COPD, and high plasma NT-proBNP levels are correlated with a poor prognosis.

Who Took Part

The study group was 40 subjects.

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Eighty subjects with AECOPD and high plasma NT-proBNP levels, without any clinical evidence of cor pulmonale, were enrolled.

The subjects were randomly allocated into two groups of 40 subjects.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

The subjects were allocated by chance, so the BNP (Nesiritide) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

In addition to standard treatment for AECOPD, the subjects in group I were treated with irbesartan alone, and those in group II were treated with irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide for a week.

Forty subjects with stable COPD were enrolled as a control group.

Plasma NT-proBNP concentrations were measured on admission and on the first, fourth, and seventh days.

The subjects' health-related quality of life was evaluated applying the 36-item short-form questionnaire on the first day before treatment and on the seventh day after treatment.

What Was Measured

Plasma levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are elevated in subjects with COPD, and high plasma NT-proBNP levels are correlated with a poor prognosis.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers, Biomarkers, China, Disease Progression, Down-Regulation, Health Status and Hydrochlorothiazide.

The authors tagged it with the keywords COPD, NT-proBNP, health-related quality of life and irbesartan.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of BNP (Nesiritide) in 40 subjects.

Its findings take up roughly 3 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2019 (International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a journal based in New Zealand.

More context: the BNP (Nesiritide) compound page, all human trials.