Inhaled corticosteroids reduce exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but their cost-effectiveness is not known.

We used a Markov model to determine, from a societal perspective, the cost-effectiveness of four treatment strategies involving inhaled corticosteroids: no use regardless of COPD severity; use in all disease stages; use in patients with stage 2 or 3 disease (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV₁] <50% of predicted); and use in patients with stage 3 disease (FEV₁ <35% of predicted). Data from the literature were used to estimate mortality, exacerbation, and disease progression rates, as well as the costs associated with care and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), according to disease stage and use or nonuse of inhaled corticosteroids. A time horizon of 3 years was used.

Use of inhaled corticosteroids in patients with stage 2 or 3 disease was associated with a cost of $17,000 per QALY gained. In stage 3 patients, use resulted in a cost of $11,100 per QALY gained. Providing inhaled corticosteroids to all COPD patients was associated with a less favorable cost-effectiveness ratio. Results were robust to various assumptions in a Monte Carlo simulation.

In patients with COPD, use of inhaled corticosteroids in those with stage 2 or 3 disease for 3 years results in improved quality-adjusted life expectancy at a cost that is similar to that of other therapies commonly used in clinical practice.