Objective: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a history of frequent exacerbations are a target population of particular interest from both a clinical and an economic standpoint. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a program designed specifically to manage patients in this subgroup.
Patients and methods: This was a 1-year randomized controlled trial designed to compare the effectiveness of a specific program (SP) with that of conventional management (CM) in a group of patients with a high frequency of exacerbations (3 or more per year). Within-group and between-group comparisons were carried out for a number of variables related to the patients medical care, dyspnea, health-related quality of life (HRQL), inhalation technique, and pulmonary function.
Results: A total of 26 patients were enrolled in the study (all men). The mean (SD) age was 73 (8) years, and mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) expressed as a percentage of the reference value was 43% (15%). Exacerbations requiring hospital care (emergency department visits and/or admission) decreased in both groups: by 24.4% (P not significant) in the CM group and 44.1% (P=.061) in the SP group. Hospital admissions decreased 73.3% in the SP group and increased 22% in the CM group (P< .001). While length of hospital stay decreased 77.3% in the SP group, this figure almost doubled in the CM group (P=.014). Dyspnea, HRQL, and inhalation technique improved in both groups. FEV1 fell by 46 mL/year in the CM group and increased 10 mL/year in the SP group (P not significant).
Conclusions: The use of a simple program to manage selected patients with a history of frequent exacerbations produces a significant reduction in the number of hospital admissions, an improvement in HRQL, and may improve prognosis.