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Breast Surgery

Tuesday 17 December 2019

Beta-blockers doubled risk of hospitalization from COPD exacerbations (BLOCK-COPD)



PulmCCM - November 17, 2019

Beta-blockers have generally been considered safe and beneficial for patients with COPD, but a new randomized trial calls that assumption into doubt. The use of oral beta blockers without a cardiac indication appeared to double the risk of hospitalization for people experiencing a COPD exacerbation.

Authors randomized 532 patients with moderate or severe COPD with an exacerbation within the past year to receive either extended release metoprolol or placebo. Patients were not already taking beta blockers and had not had myocardial infarctions or other cardiac indications for beta blocker use. The trial was called BLOCK-COPD and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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