Effects of OM-85 BV in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This study aimed to identify the effects of OM-85 BV in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The major end point was exacerbation rate, and the minor end points included duration of hospitalization, severity of acute exacerbation, incidence rate of patients using antibiotics, and adverse events. All data were derived with relative risks (RRs) and weighted mean differences. Five RCTs with 1190 patients were enrolled in the meta-analysis. OM-85 BV was associated with 20% and 39% reductions in exacerbation rate (RR, 0.80; 95% confidence interval [CIs], 0.65-0.97; P = .03) and incidence rate of patients using antibiotics (RR, 0.61; 95%CI, 0.48-0.77; P < .0001) compared with the placebo. However, OM-85 BV was not significantly associated with duration of hospitalization, severity of acute exacerbation, and total adverse events. Current evidence supporting the benefits of OM-85 BV to COPD patients is inadequate. Further larger-scale trials must be conducted to validate our findings and the efficacy of OM-85 BV in COPD patients.