Patients at risk of coronary disease who have reactive airways may breathe easier thanks to new data released today at the 15th Annual Scientific Session of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. A new study shows that regadenoson may be safely tolerated by patients with chronic lung disease, providing an alternative to adenosine, which is known to induce brochoconstriction in some patients.
This multicenter study included 532 patients with asthma and 467 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who were randomized to receive a single injection of regadenoson or placebo. Respiratory function parameters were monitored for two hours after the injection, and any adverse events were collected up to 24 hours post-injection.
The study showed specific respiratory adverse events (such as wheezing, dyspnea, and tachypnea) were significantly more common among patients receiving regadenoson as compared with those receiving placebo. This finding is attributable to dyspnea, a known side-effect of A2A agonists. Though the incidence of adverse events was higher with regadenoson than the placebo, the adverse event profile was similar to that observed in previous regadenoson trials in non-asthmatic/COPD patients.
Overall, this large, double-blind study of regadenoson demonstrated comparable safety to placebo in patients with COPD and asthma. Information from this study will be useful in the selection of regadenoson as a pharmacological stress agent in patient populations.
Dr. Bruce M. Penner will present this study, "Safety and Tolerability of Regadenoson in Patients with Asthma or COPD" Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom, Salon H of the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.
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