PACE trial findings...

…lead to safe reduction in antibiotic use in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Researchers at Cardiff University with colleagues from University of Oxford and King’s College London hosted a targeted engagement meeting on 6 June 2019 at Wales Millennium Centre to discuss the potentially ground-breaking results from the PACE study.

The event brought together a range of stakeholders including policy makers, industry, the third sector, researchers and patients in the format of plenary talks and group discussions, to ensure that learning from the trial is implemented into policy and guidelines, and make a real difference to patients, their families, wider society and the NHS.

About a million people in the UK have been diagnosed with COPD. People with COPD often experience acute exacerbations (AECOPD), also known as flare-ups, where their symptoms - including breathlessness, coughing, and phlegm - suddenly become worse. Three out of four are prescribed antibiotics. However, two-thirds of these flare-ups are not caused by bacterial infections and antibiotics often do not benefit patients.

Researchers set out to test whether a finger-prick blood test that can be carried out in GP surgeries in a few minutes could help clinicians decide when to prescribe antibiotics for COPD flare-ups. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker of inflammation that rises rapidly in the blood in response to serious infections. When people with a COPD flare-up have low levels of CRP, they are much less likely to benefit from antibiotics.

Results published in the July issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, show that a fingerprick blood test carried out in GP surgeries can safely reduce antibiotic use in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Video of the PACE study results

This is a shortened version of the full article that features in edition 32 of ReMEDy.

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