Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex and progressive respiratory disease characterized by incompletely reversible bronchial obstruction. The effects of current therapeutic options in early stages of COPD have been poorly investigated in the past, being this specific topic revamped by the results of recent secondary analyses from large international trials.

To measure and monitor in real life the changes in main clinical outcomes and health care resources in patients suffering from mild-to-moderate and severe COPD treated with only tiotropium br. for twenty-four months.

The population sample of the present observational retrospective study consists of 319 COPD subjects (214 males; average age 71.7 years ± 06 se) automatically extracted from the DataBase of the Health Care Institution. Inclusion criteria were: age ≥ 40 y; basal FEV1 < 80% predicted and FEV1/FVC < 70%; regular treatment with only 18 mcg tiotropium br. for the following two years. All subjects were divided into two subsets according to their FEV1 basal value: (Group A  ≤ 50%, and Group B >50% predicted). Lung function; n. exacerbations; n. hospitalizations; absenteeism; n. GP’s visits, and use of systemic steroids or antibiotics were checked during the observational period and mean values compared in both subsets with those of the twelve months preceding tiotropium br. (such as during other therapeutic strategies). T test was used for checking the comparability of groups, while ANOVA – Duncan test was used to compare the trends of all variables over time; p < 0.05 was accepted.

Group A, 154 individuals (104 males; mean age 72.1 years ± 0.51 se) had a mean FEV1 value of 45.4% pred. ±0.61 se, while the remaining 165, Group B (111 males; mean age 71.4 years ± 0.60 se) had a mean FEV1 value of 65.5% pred. ± 5.7 se (p < 0,01). The two subsets were well matched for gender, age, and previous use of systemic steroids, but significantly different in terms of basal lung function, COPD morbidity, and antibiotic use. Basically, the impact of COPD confirmed higher in severe patients even if it was unexpectedly remarkable in mild-to-moderate individuals in terms of consumption of health care resources. The overall reduction in COPD morbidity was significant in both groups, but the improvement in FEV1 and in other main long-term outcomes observed in subjects with mild-to-moderate COPD was particularly significant and substantial (p < 0.001), these subjects confirming to be worth of earlier therapeutic attention.

18 mcg tiotropium br. monotherapy for twenty-four months on a regular daily basis enables a significant minimization of COPD impact, and consents the progressive lung function recovery also in mild-to-moderate individuals, thus suggesting a possible role of tiotropium br. in affecting the natural history of COPD.