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PostScript
Correspondence
Should we give long-term macrolide therapy for COPD?
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We would like to take this opportunity to respond to the invitation from the editors of Thorax to engage in a debate over the current place of macrolide therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We believe that the optimism imparted by Albert et al 1 may hide harmful effects that outweigh the currently perceived benefits. In this placebo-controlled, parallel group (but not double-blind) randomised trial, one-quarter of screened patients were excluded from study entry. The main reason for exclusion was the presence of ‘cardiac issues’ related to the known potential of macrolides …