When Living with COPD, nebulized maintenance therapy may be an appropriate option
For individuals living with COPD, small changes may make a difference.
COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a group of life-changing lung diseases that include emphysema and chronic bronchitis.1 Those living with COPD can experience coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and fatigue, though it does not affect everyone the same.1
COPD is progressive, meaning it gets worse over time. It can cause serious long-term disability and early death.1 It is the third leading cause of disease-related deaths in the U.S., and impacts some 661,000 people in Michigan.2
There is no cure for COPD, but it is treatable.3 Changes in lifestyle and finding the appropriate treatment may help make an impact in managing the symptoms of the disease.
Small changes may make a difference on the effect that COPD can have. These can include:
- Quitting smoking and avoiding other irritants, like smoke, dust and fumes
- Keeping a healthy weight and eating nutritious foods
- Protecting yourself from getting sick by washing hands or using a hand sanitizer
- Practicing breathing exercises
- Getting support from loved ones
- Writing about the physical and emotional impact in a journal1
Talk to your doctor about making lifestyle changes, especially changes to your diet or exercise routines before you make them.
It is also important to talk to your doctor about the different types of COPD treatments available, such as maintenance and rescue medicines. Maintenance medicines are for everyday use, controlling symptoms over time, while rescue medicines are for sudden symptoms, and are not used on a regular basis. Maintenance and rescue medicines are taken with either an inhaler or nebulizer.4
Maintenance treatments are available as handheld portable devices or as a nebulized treatment. Patients should discuss with their doctors which treatment may be appropriate for them.
Inhalers are handheld, portable devices that deliver a measured puff of medicine into the lungs.4 Some inhalers may require patients to hold their breath for up to 10 seconds after the device is activated.4
Nebulizers get medicine into your lungs in a fine mist while you breathe calmly, deeply and evenly through a mouthpiece until the mist is gone. They do not require you to hold your breath after you activate the device.4 Some patients prefer the option to sit calmly and breath normally to deliver treatment once a day.
If you’re living with COPD and interested in a nebulized maintenance treatment, you may want to ask your doctor about once-daily YUPELRI® (revefenacin) inhalation solution. YUPELRI is a daily maintenance medication that lasts a full 24 hours to improve breathing.5 YUPELRI works with any commonly available standard jet nebulizer, which may be found in local pharmacies.5
To help find the appropriate treatment, patients can write down their symptoms and share them with their doctor if there are changes or updates. If you think you may want to consider a nebulized maintenance treatment for your COPD, ask your doctor about YUPELRI and if it might be appropriate for you, or visit MYYUPELRI.com.
Important Safety Information
What is YUPELRI®?
- YUPELRI is a prescription medicine used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a long-term (chronic) lung disease that includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both.
- It is an anticholinergic medicine which helps the muscles around the airway in your lungs stay relaxed to prevent symptoms such as wheezing, cough, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.
- It is used long-term as 1 vial of YUPELRI, 1 time each day inhaled through your nebulizer to improve symptoms of COPD for better breathing.
Who should not use YUPELRI?
- Do not use YUPELRI if you have sudden breathing problems. Always have a rescue inhaler with you.
- Do not use YUPELRI if you have had an allergic reaction to revefenacin, or any of the other ingredients in YUPELRI (sodium chloride, citric acid, sodium citrate).
- Do not use in children. It is not known if YUPELRI is safe and effective in children.
Before using YUPELRI, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:
- have eye problems such as glaucoma. YUPELRI may make your glaucoma worse.
- have prostate or bladder problems, or problems passing urine. YUPELRI may make these problems worse.
- have liver problems.
- are allergic to any of the ingredients in YUPELRI, or any other medicines.
- are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. It is not known if YUPELRI may harm your unborn baby.
- are breastfeeding. It is not known if the medicine in YUPELRI passes into your breast milk and if it can harm your baby.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. YUPELRI and certain other medicines may interact with each other. This may cause serious side effects.
Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take:
- Other anticholinergics (including tiotropium, ipratropium, aclidinium, umeclidinium, glycopyrrolate)
Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist each time you get a new medicine.
What are the possible side effects with YUPELRI?
YUPELRI can cause serious side effects, including:
- Sudden breathing problems immediately after inhaling your medicine. If you have sudden breathing problems immediately after inhaling your medicine, stop using YUPELRI and call your healthcare provider right away.
- New or worsened eye problems including acute narrow-angle glaucoma. Acute narrow-angle glaucoma can cause permanent loss of vision if not treated. Symptoms may include:
- Red eyes
- Blurred vision
- Seeing halos or bright colors around lights
- Eye pain or discomfort
- Nausea or vomiting
- Urinary retention. People who take YUPELRI may develop new or worse urinary retention. Symptoms of urinary retention may include:
- difficulty urinating
- urinating frequently
- urination in a weak stream or drips
- painful urination
If you have any of these symptoms, call your healthcare provider right away before taking another dose.
- Serious allergic reactions. Call your healthcare provider or get emergency medical care if you get any of the following symptoms of a serious allergic reaction:
- severe itching
- swelling of your face, mouth, and tongue
- difficulty breathing or swallowing
If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking YUPELRI, and call your healthcare provider right away before taking another dose.
Common side effects of YUPELRI include:
- Runny nose
- Upper respiratory tract infection
- Back pain
Tell your healthcare provider if you get any side effects that bother you or that do not go away. These are not all the possible side effects with YUPELRI. Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for more information. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
How should I use YUPELRI?
Read the step by step instructions for using YUPELRI at the end of this Patient Information Leaflet
- YUPELRI is only for use with a nebulizer.
- Do not use YUPELRI more often than prescribed.
- Do not mix YUPELRI with other medicines in your nebulizer.
- Do not use other medicines that contain an anticholinergic for any reason.
- Do not stop using YUPELRI, even if you are feeling better, unless your healthcare provider tells you to because your symptoms might get worse.
- Call your healthcare provider or get emergency medical care right away if
- your breathing problems get worse.
- you need to use your rescue inhaler medicine more often than usual.
- your rescue inhaler medicine does not relieve your symptoms.
This summary does not include all the information about YUPELRI and is not meant to take the place of a discussion with your healthcare provider about your treatment.
(C) 2021 Viatris Inc. All Rights Reserved. REV-2021-0159
- Center for Disease Control. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Basics About COPD. https://www.cdc.gov/copd/basics-about.html. June 8, 2021.
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. What Do Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Rates Look Like in Your State? https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/education-and-awareness/copd-learn-more-breathe-better/state-prevalence. CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Survey Data. June 8, 2021.
- American Lung Association. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Learn About COPD. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/learn-about-copd. June 8, 2021.
- COPD Foundation. Getting the medicines to your lungs by Nebulizers and Inhalers. Treatment and Medications for COPD. https://www.copdfoundation.org/Learn-More/I-am-a-Person-with-COPD/Treatments-Medications.aspx. June 8, 2021.
- YUPELRI [package insert]. Morgantown, WV: Mylan Specialty LP; May 2019.