Researchers have observed a trend towards clinical benefits in bronchiectasis patients treated with twice-daily 32.5 mg ciprofloxacin dry powder inhalation (DPI), including prolongation of the time to first exacerbation and a reduced frequency of exacerbations.
The results are taken from the RESPIRE 1 and 2 trials, published in the European Respiratory Journal, which sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ciprofloxacin DPI in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.
Together, the two trials represent the largest clinical trial programme ever conducted in bronchiectasis.
In both trials, patients were randomised 2:1 to receive twice-daily ciprofloxacin DPI 32.5 mg or a placebo in two treatment regimens consisting of on/off treatment cycles of 14 or 28 days for 48 weeks.
RESPIRE 1 assessed 416 patients from across Europe, North and South America, Australia and Japan, and found a statistically significant increase in the time to first exacerbation. Researchers also observed a reduced frequency of exacerbations in the 14-day on/off regimen, but not in the 28-day regimen.
RESPIRE 2 enrolled 521 patients from Asia and Eastern Europe, but did not show any statistically significant improvement in either end-point, though the authors note that the data suggested a trend toward benefit.
Professors Sanjay Chotirmall and James Chalmers discuss the significance of the findings from both trials in an accompanying editorial, also published in the ERJ, suggesting the findings provide promise for bronchiectasis treatment.