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Previous Volume 347:1533-1534 November 7, 2002 Number 19 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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To the Editor: In his Clinical Practice article (March 28 issue),¹ Stoller states that the use of methylxanthines in patients with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains "unclear." My colleagues and I disagree. In a meta-analysis of randomized trials of methylxanthines, my team found no consistent benefit of methylxanthines for exacerbations of COPD and a clear increase in the risk of adverse effects.² These findings concur with results of a systematic review of methylxanthines for exacerbations of asthma in adults.³

Stoller cites a large reduction in the rate of hospitalization among patients treated with aminophylline in one study . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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