Dennis E. Niewoehner, MD

Professor of Medicine

Pulmonary Section (111N)
VA Medical Center
Minneapolis, MN 55417
Tel:  (612) 467-4412
Fax: (612) 727-5634
Email: niewo001@umn.edu

Summary of Academic Activities

My principal academic effort in recent years has involved the initiation, design, and execution of clinical trials that evaluate preventative and treatment measures for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an increasingly important public health problem. I have served as the principal investigator of a recently completed randomized clinical trial that was performed by contract with a pharmaceutical company through the Minnesota Veterans Research Institute.  This was performed at 26 VA medical centers and it exceeded its targeted goal of 1800 randomized patients.  The hypothesis of this trial was that the addition of a long-acting inhaled anticholinergic bronchodilator to otherwise standard therapy would, over a six-month period, significantly reduce the rate of exacerbations and respiratory hospitalizations among veteran patients with severe COPD.  Secondary outcomes included all associated aspects of health care utilization. This trial has been completed and was recently published.

I am also a Principal Investigator for the NHLBI-sponsored COPD Clinical Research Network.  This group is designing clinical studies that will improve the management of COPD. Trials are currently under way. I am also a Co-Principal Proponent of a recently funded trial from the VA Cooperative Studies program that will evaluate case management as an intervention for reducing hospitalization rates in 960 patients with severe COPD. Enrollment began in the autumn of 2006.

Selected Recent Publications

Kunisaki M, Rice KL, Janoff EN, Rector TS, Niewoehner DE. Exhaled nitric oxide, systemic inflammation, and the spirometric response to inhaled fluticasone propionate in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a prospective study. Ther Adv Respir Dis 2008; 2:55-64.

Niewoehner DE. Responses to tiotropium in African-American and Caucasian patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  Transl Res. 2008; 152(2):88-94.

Niewoehner DE. Oral prednisolone was not inferior to intravenous prednisolone for treatment failure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. Evid Based Med, 2008; 13(5):145.

Kunisaki KM, Niewoehner DE. Antibiotic prophylaxis for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: resurrecting an old idea. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2008 1; 178(11):1098-9.

Camargo CA Jr, Ginde AA, Clark S, Cartwright CP, Falsey AR, Niewoehner DE. Viral pathogens in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Intern Emerg Med. 2008; 3(4):355-9.

Niewoehner DE  TORCH and UPLIFT: what has been learned from the COPD "mega-trials"? COPD. 2009; 6(1):1-3.

Niewoehner DE. Relation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations to FEV(1)--an intricate tango. Respiration, 2009; 77(2):229-35. 

Niewoehner DE, Lapidus R, Cote C, Sharafkhaneh A, Plautz M, Johnson P, Kesten S.  Therapeutic conversion of the combination of ipratropium and albuterol to tiotropium in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  Pulm Pharmacol Ther. 2009;22(6):587-92.

Active Grant Support

• "Bronchitis and Emphysema Advice and Training to Reduce Hospitalization (BREATH). A randomized controlled trial of disease management to prevent COPD hospitalizations"
  VA Cooperative Trials (CSP 560)
  2006-2010
  Role: Co-Principal Proponent with Dr. Vincent Fan

Genetic Epidemiology of COPD  Study goals:A multi-institutional study for the creation of a cohort for genome-wide association analysis of 10,500 subjects to identify the genetic, environmental and pathophysiologic factors that control the development and progression of COPD.
P.I.s: James Crapo, Edwin Silverman NHLBI
(1 R01 HL08989 2007-2010
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Recent Grant Support

"Drug Therapy for Preventing COPD Exacerbations"
NHLBI (1 U10 HL074419)
2003-2008
Role: Principal Investigator