The optimal dose of indacaterol for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis

Background: The optimal dose of indacaterol for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was in debate. We did this network meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of three dosages (75, 150, and 300 μg) of indacaterol in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD.

Methods: We searched studies from inception until January 20, 2023 on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science database. All studies comparing different doses of indacaterol for COPD were included in this network meta-analysis. Outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), exacerbation rate, St. George respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), transitional dyspnea index (TDI), and adverse events. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and odds ratio (OR) with 95% credible interval (CrI) was calculated by R software with gemtc package.

Results: Finally, a total of 10 studies (4,991 patients) were finally included in this network meta-analysis. Indacaterol 75 μg (WMD: 0.07; 95% CrI: 0.05-0.08), indacaterol 150 μg (WMD: 0.13; 95% CrI: 0.12-0.14), and indacaterol 300 μg (WMD: 0.22; 95% CrI: 0.22-0.23) were all more effective than the placebo, and the difference was statistically significant. Indacaterol 75 μg (OR: 0.80; 95% CrI: 0.53-1.21), indacaterol 150 μg (OR: 0.59; 95% CrI: 0.45-0.78), indacaterol 300 μg (OR: 0.35; 95% CrI: 0.26-0.46) were more effective than the placebo in terms of exacerbation rate, and the difference was statistically significant. The surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) showed that indacaterol 300 μg ranked first, indacaterol 150 μg ranked second, indacaterol 75 μg ranked third, and placebo ranked the last for FEV1, SGRQ, TDI, exacerbation rate. There was no significant difference among the adverse events (P>0.05).

Conclusions: Considering the network meta-analysis and rankings, 300 μg indacaterol is superior to the other two dosages in treating patients with moderate-to-severe COPD. However, the quality of available evidence limits the formation of powerful conclusions regarding the comparative efficacy or safety of different doses of indacaterol used to treat COPD. Higher-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are required for further research in the future.