Inhaled corticosteroids don't reduce mortality rates in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to an observational trial by researchers at the UW and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. The results appeared in the December 2003 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a publication of the American Thoracic Society.

Vincent Fan, acting assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care, and six colleagues observed 2,654 COPD patients who were prescribed inhaled corticosteroids and 5,398 COPD patients not using the drugs. They found no significant reduction in COPD mortality rates for those usingthe inhaled steroids at any dosage.

People who suffer from COPD have obstruction of their airways associated with emphysema or chronic bronchitis. The disease is the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Thoracic Society.