Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth-leading cause of chronic morbidity and mortality in North America and its burden continues to increase.  Tiotropium has been shown to reduce exacerbations, hospitalizations, symptoms, and improve health-related quality of life in patients with COPD.  Its effect on mortality and its effects relative to long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs), however, remain unknown.

To examine the association between tiotropium use compared to LABA use on all-cause mortality in older patients with COPD, a longitudinal, population-based cohort study was conducted in Ontario, Canada.  Subjects were individuals 65 years and older discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of COPD between January 1, 2003 and March 31, 2006.  The hazard of receiving a prescription for tiotropium compared to a long-acting beta-agonist on all-cause mortality at 180 days post-hospital discharge, controlling for a number of potential confounders, was eliminated.  Data from 7,218 eligible patients were analyzed.  Of these, 1,046 (14.5%) died in the follow-up period. Patients who received tiotropium were 20% less likely to die than those receiving a long-acting beta-agonist (hazard ratio 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.70 to 0.93).

In conclusion, in older patients recently discharged from hospital for COPD, receiving tiotropium was found to be associated with reduced mortality at 6 months compared to receiving a long-acting beta-agonist.  This result suggests that tiotropium might also be associated with decreased mortality compared to no treatment at all.  Randomized placebo-control trials are needed to confirm these findings.