Polosa Riccardo, Morjaria Jaymin Bhagwanji, Prosperini Umberto, Russo Cristina, Pennisi Alfio, Puleo Rosario, Caruso Massimo, Caponnetto Pasquale
Department of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Tobacco Addiction (CPCT), Teaching Hospital "Policlinico - V. Emanuele", University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2018 Aug 22;13:2533-2542. doi: 10.2147/COPD.S161138. eCollection 2018.
Health effects of electronic cigarette (EC) use in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are largely unexplored.
We present findings from a long-term prospective assessment of respiratory parameters in a cohort of COPD patients who ceased or substantially reduced conventional cigarette use with ECs.
We prospectively re-evaluated COPD exacerbations, spirometric indices, subjective assessments (using the COPD Assessment Tool [CAT] scores), physical activity (measured by the 6-minute walk distance [6MWD]), and conventional cigarette use in EC users with COPD who were retrospectively assessed previously. Baseline measurements prior to switching to EC use were compared to follow-up visits at 12, 24, and 36 months. Age- and sex-matched regularly smoking COPD patients who were not using ECs were included as reference (control) group.
Complete data were available from 44 patients. Compared to baseline in the EC-user group, there was a marked decline in the use of conventional cigarettes. Although there was no change in lung function, significant improvements in COPD exacerbation rates, CAT scores, and 6MWD were observed consistently in the EC user group over the 3-year period (<0.01). Similar findings were noted in COPD EC users who also smoked conventional cigarettes ("dual users").
The present study suggests that EC use may ameliorate objective and subjective COPD outcomes and that the benefits gained may persist long-term. EC use may reverse some of the harm resulting from tobacco smoking in COPD patients.
慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）患者使用电子烟（EC）对健康的影响在很大程度上尚未得到探索。
我们展示了对一组停止或大幅减少传统香烟使用并改用电子烟的COPD患者进行的呼吸参数长期前瞻性评估的结果。
我们对之前进行过回顾性评估的使用电子烟的COPD患者的COPD急性加重、肺功能指标、主观评估（使用COPD评估工具[CAT]评分）、身体活动（通过6分钟步行距离[6MWD]测量）和传统香烟使用情况进行了前瞻性重新评估。将改用电子烟之前的基线测量结果与12、24和36个月的随访结果进行比较。年龄和性别匹配的未使用电子烟的经常吸烟的COPD患者作为参考（对照）组。
44名患者提供了完整数据。与电子烟使用者组的基线相比，传统香烟的使用显著下降。尽管肺功能没有变化，但在3年期间，电子烟使用者组的COPD急性加重率、CAT评分和6MWD均持续显著改善（<0.01）。在也吸传统香烟的COPD电子烟使用者（“双重使用者”）中也观察到了类似的结果。
本研究表明，使用电子烟可能改善COPD的客观和主观结果，且获得的益处可能长期持续。使用电子烟可能会逆转COPD患者吸烟造成的一些危害。
