Tier 1 — highest

Effects of N-acetylcysteine on outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Bronchitis Randomized on NAC Cost-Utility Study, BRONCUS): a randomised placebo-controlled trial

Marc Decramer, Maureen Rutten-van Mölken, P N Richard Dekhuijzen, Thierry Troosters, Cees van Herwaarden, Riccardo Pellegrino, C P Onno van Schayck, Dario Olivieri, Mario Del Donno, Wilfried De Backer, Ida Lankhorst, Alfredo Ardia
Lancet 2005 365(9470):1552-1560

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 15866309
DOI
10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66456-2
Funding
Funding disclosure was not located in the indexed record reviewed; consult the source publication for the full funding statement.
Competing interests
Competing-interest disclosure was not located in the indexed record reviewed; consult the source publication for the full declaration.

Study snapshot

DesignMulticenter randomized placebo-controlled trial
ModelHuman
Sample523 patients with COPD
InterventionNAC 600 mg/day versus placebo
Duration3 years
EndpointsFEV1 decline; Exacerbations; Clinical outcomes

What the study showed, in plain terms

Major long-duration COPD trial that provides an important negative/neutral counterweight to more favorable studies.

Key findings

NAC did not materially change long-term FEV1 decline and did not show a broad overall exacerbation benefit in the full cohort.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Older COPD treatment era and a 600 mg/day regimen; subgroup findings do not override the neutral primary interpretation.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology