Acute exacerbations and infections increase in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who take aspirin and statins

This study was published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences 2015 Mar 2;12(3):280-7

 

Study title and author:

No Significant Detectable Anti-infection Effects of Aspirin and Statins in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Yayan J.

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Sleep Medicine, Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg/Saar, Germany.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25798054

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the name for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease.

This study examined  the effect of using aspirin and statins in the exacerbation and infection in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The study included 300 patients, average age 69 years, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The study found:
(a) Patients taking aspirin and statins were 40% more likely to develop an infection than not develop an infection.
(b) Patients taking statins alone were 230% more likely to develop an infection than not develop an infection.
(c) Patients not taking either aspirin or statins were 40% LESS likely to develop an infection than develop an infection.
(d) Patients taking aspirin and statins had a 16% increased risk of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared to patients not taking either aspirin or statins.
(e) Patients taking statins alone had a 56% increased risk of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared to patients not taking either aspirin or statins.

Yayan concluded: "In this study, the number of acute exacerbations and infections increased in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who took aspirin and statins compared with those who took neither aspirin nor statins".