RESEARCH ARTICLE
Tiotropium Bromide: An Update
Josep Lluis Heredia*
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2009Volume: 3
First Page: 43
Last Page: 52
Publisher ID: TORMJ-3-43
DOI: 10.2174/1874306400903010043
Article History:
Received Date: 6/2/2009Revision Received Date: 13/2/2009
Acceptance Date: 17/2/2009
Electronic publication date: 14/4/2009
Collection year: 2009
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Tiotropium bromide is a once-daily inhaled anticholinergic bronchodilator. It works by blocking the muscarinic receptors in airway smooth muscle. Tiotropium has a wide therapeutic margin, due to its poor gastrointestinal absorption and its very low systemic bioavailability. The drug is mainly indicated in COPD patients. Clinically relevant outcomes such as significant improvements in spirometry, hyperinflation, dyspnea, heath status, acute exacerbations and mortality have been consistently observed in tiotropium clinical trials, and the drug has been shown to reduce the risk of mortality due to cardiac-vascular disease and respiratory failure. The main side effect reported is dryness of the mouth. Some subgroups of asthmatics also seem to respond to anticholinergic drugs: among them, those with the Arg/Arg genotype for the β2-adrenergic receptor and those with a high percentage of neutrophils in sputum.
