Risk of Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Treated with Azithromycin, Roxithromycin, Clarithromycin, and Amoxicillin

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  • Imane Achir Alispahic
  • Josefin Eklöf
  • Pradeesh Sivapalan
  • Alexander Ryder Jordan
  • Zitta Barrella Harboe
  • Tor Biering-Sørensen
  • Jensen, Jens Ulrik

Background: Prior research has raised concerns regarding the use of macrolides and their association with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Methods: We conducted a cohort study, where we explored the cardiovascular risks associated with the treatment of COPD patients using macrolide antibiotics–namely azithromycin, clarithromycin, and roxithromycin—with amoxicillin serving as a reference. The study focused on COPD patients in an outpatient setting and included a thorough 3-year follow-up. Patients were categorized into four groups based on their treatment. The primary analysis utilized an adjusted Cox model, supplemented by sensitivity analysis through inverse probability of treatment weighting. Results: No significant differences were found in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE—stroke, acute myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death) between the macrolide groups, and the amoxicillin/hazard ratios (HR) were azithromycin HR = 1.01, clarithromycin HR = 0.99, and roxithromycin HR = 1.02. Similarly, sensitivity analysis showed no disparities in all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death among the groups. Conclusions: Overall, the study revealed no evidence of increased risk of MACE, all-cause mortality, or cardiovascular death in COPD patients treated with these macrolides compared to amoxicillin over a 3-year period.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1987
JournalJournal of Clinical Medicine
Volume13
Issue number7
Number of pages12
ISSN2077-0383
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.

    Research areas

  • AMI, amoxicillin, azithromycin, cardiovascular death, clarithromycin, COPD, major adverse cardiovascular event, roxithromycin, stroke

ID: 389508327