Exploring Current Concepts and Challenges in the Identification and Management of Early-Stage COPD.

The need to improve health outcomes, as well as disease prognosis, has led clinicians and researchers to propose new ways of identifying COPD in its earliest forms. This initiative is based on the hypothesis that an earlier intervention would have a greater prognostic impact. However, the operational definition of a patient in the initial stages of the disease is complex, and there is still no unanimously accepted definition. GOLD has recently proposed different concepts to identify COPD in its early stages, such as COPD in young people or COPD with mild functional impairment. In addition, GOLD proposes two other concepts, called pre-COPD (symptomatic non-obstructive patients) and PRISm (preserved ratio with impaired spirometry), which aim to identify the patient at risk of developing this chronic airflow obstruction. However, despite the attractiveness of these concepts, none have been taken up universally by the medical community. A universally accepted identification of how to define COPD in its early stages is necessary as a preliminary step in order to design clinical trials to find out the best way to treat these patients. This review deals with these concepts of COPD at the onset of the disease, highlighting their importance and the problems involved in identifying them as therapeutic targets in real clinical practice.

High risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in COPD exacerbator phenotype.

It is not known whether COPD exacerbations contribute to an increased vascular risk already associated with the disease. For this reason, we prospectively evaluated 127 patients referred for a monographic COPD consultation. We classify as exacerbators those who had experienced two or more moderate exacerbations in the previous year, or who had had a hospital admission. All underwent a blood analysis, respiratory function tests, global cardiovascular and coronary risk estimates (with four of the most frequently used scores, and the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Coronaropathy Risk (COPDCoRi) score, respectively); and an EcoDoppler to measure carotid intima-media thickness and the ankle-brachial index. Finally, we included 50 patients with exacerbator phenotypes and 57 with non-exacerbator phenotypes, ranging from 63 ±â€¯7 years old, 74% of whom were male. The exacerbator phenotype increased the risk of carotid intima-media thickness above the 75th percentile range by a factor of almost three, independently of the severity of COPD and global cardiovascular risk. The association between the exacerbator phenotype and high c-IMT was more evident in patients under 65. In conclusion, the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis is independently associated with the exacerbator phenotype, with more pronounced differences in younger patient; which suggests that we should intensify control of vascular risk factors in these groups of patients.

Seasonal variability in clinical care of COPD outpatients: results from the Andalusian COPD audit.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical practice in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be influenced by weather variability throughout the year. To explore the hypothesis of seasonal variability in clinical practice, the present study analyzes the results of the 2013-2014 Andalusian COPD audit with regard to changes in clinical practice according to the different seasons. METHODS: The Andalusian COPD audit was a pilot clinical project conducted from October 2013 to September 2014 in outpatient respiratory clinics of hospitals in Andalusia, Spain (8 provinces with more than 8 million inhabitants) with retrospective data gathering. For the present analysis, astronomical seasons in the Northern Hemisphere were used as reference. Bivariate associations between the different COPD guidelines and the clinical practice changes over the seasons were explored by using binomial multivariate logistic regression analysis with age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, type of hospital, and COPD severity by forced expiratory volume in 1 second as covariates, and were expressed as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: The Andalusian COPD audit included 621 clinical records from 9 hospitals. After adjusting for covariates, only inhaler device satisfaction evaluation was found to significantly differ according to the seasons with an increase in winter (OR, 3.460; 95% CI, 1.469-8.151), spring (OR, 4.215; 95% CI, 1.814-9.793), and summer (OR, 3.371; 95% CI, 1.391-8.169) compared to that in autumn. The rest of the observed differences were not significant after adjusting for covariates. However, compliance with evaluating inhaler satisfaction was low. CONCLUSION: The various aspects of clinical practice for COPD care were found to be quite homogeneous throughout the year for the variables evaluated. Inhaler satisfaction evaluation, however, presented some significant variation during the year. Inhaler device satisfaction should be evaluated during all clinical visits throughout the year for improved COPD management.

Determinants for changing the treatment of COPD: a regression analysis from a clinical audit.

INTRODUCTION: This study is an analysis of a pilot COPD clinical audit that evaluated adherence to guidelines for patients with COPD in a stable disease phase during a routine visit in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics in order to identify the variables associated with the decision to step-up or step-down pharmacological treatment. METHODS: This study was a pilot clinical audit performed at hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with over eight million inhabitants), in which 20% of centers in the area (catchment population 3,143,086 inhabitants) were invited to participate. Treatment changes were evaluated in terms of the number of prescribed medications and were classified as step-up, step-down, or no change. Three backward stepwise binominal multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate variables associated with stepping up, stepping down, and inhaled corticosteroids discontinuation. RESULTS: The present analysis evaluated 565 clinical records (91%) of the complete audit. Of those records, 366 (64.8%) cases saw no change in pharmacological treatment, while 99 patients (17.5%) had an increase in the number of drugs, 55 (9.7%) had a decrease in the number of drugs, and 45 (8.0%) noted a change to other medication for a similar therapeutic scheme. Exacerbations were the main factor in stepping up treatment, as were the symptoms themselves. In contrast, rather than symptoms, doctors used forced expiratory volume in 1 second and previous treatment with long-term antibiotics or inhaled corticosteroids as the key determinants to stepping down treatment. CONCLUSION: The majority of doctors did not change the prescription. When changes were made, a number of related factors were noted. Future trials must evaluate whether these therapeutic changes impact clinically relevant outcomes at follow-up.

Guideline Adherence in Outpatient Clinics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Results from a Clinical Audit.

OBJECTIVES: Previous clinical audits of COPD have provided relevant information about medical intervention in exacerbation admissions. The present study aims to evaluate adherence to current guidelines in COPD through a clinical audit. METHODS: This is a pilot clinical audit performed in hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with more than 8 million inhabitants), including 9 centers (20% of the public centers in the area) between 2013 and 2014. Cases with an established diagnosis of COPD based on risk factors, clinical symptoms, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 0.70 were deemed eligible. The performance of the outpatient clinics was benchmarked against three guidance documents available at the time of the audit. The appropriateness of the performance was categorized as excellent (>80%), good (60-80%), adequate (40-59%), inadequate (20-39%), and highly inadequate (<20%). RESULTS: During the audit, 621 clinical records were audited. Adherence to the different guidelines presented a considerable variability among the different participating hospitals, with an excellent or good adherence for symptom recording, MRC or CAT use, smoking status evaluation, spirometry, or bronchodilation therapy. The most outstanding areas for improvement were the use of the BODE index, the monitoring of treatments, the determination of alpha1-antitrypsin, the performance of exercise testing, and vaccination recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: The present study reflects the situation of clinical care for COPD patients in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics. Adherence to clinical guidelines shows considerable variability in outpatient clinics managing COPD patients, and some aspects of the clinical care can clearly be improved.

Clinical Audits in Outpatient Clinics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Methodological Considerations and Workflow.

OBJECTIVES: Previous clinical audits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have provided valuable information on the clinical care delivered to patients admitted to medical wards because of COPD exacerbations. However, clinical audits of COPD in an outpatient setting are scarce and no methodological guidelines are currently available. Based on our previous experience, herein we describe a clinical audit for COPD patients in specialized outpatient clinics with the overall goal of establishing a potential methodological workflow. METHODS: A pilot clinical audit of COPD patients referred to respiratory outpatient clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (over 8 million inhabitants), was performed. The audit took place between October 2013 and September 2014, and 10 centers (20% of all public hospitals) were invited to participate. Cases with an established diagnosis of COPD based on risk factors, clinical symptoms, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 0.70 were deemed eligible. The usefulness of formally scheduled regular follow-up visits was assessed. Two different databases (resources and clinical database) were constructed. Assessments were planned over a year divided by 4 three-month periods, with the goal of determining seasonal-related changes. Exacerbations and survival served as the main endpoints. CONCLUSIONS: This paper describes a methodological framework for conducting a clinical audit of COPD patients in an outpatient setting. Results from such audits can guide health information systems development and implementation in real-world settings.

Nebulized therapy. SEPAR year.

Inhaled drugs are deposited directly in the respiratory tract. They therefore achieve higher concentrations with faster onset of action and fewer side effects than when used systemically. Nebulized drugs are mainly recommended for patients that require high doses of bronchodilators, when they need to inhale drugs that only exist in this form (antibiotics or dornase alfa) or when they are unable to use other inhalation devices. Technological development in recent years has led to new devices that optimize pulmonary deposits and reduce the time needed for treatment. In this review we focus solely on drugs currently used, or under investigation, for nebulization in adult patients; basically bronchodilators, inhaled steroids, antibiotics, antifungals, mucolytics and others such as anticoagulants, prostanoids and lidocaine.

Clinical outcomes and cost analysis of exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: Exacerbations are a major cause of disability, hospital admissions, and increased healthcare costs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study investigated the clinical outcomes of outpatients with moderate to severe exacerbated COPD and their related costs. METHODS: An observational study on the outcomes of ambulatory exacerbations of COPD was conducted. The course of the exacerbation was evaluated at a follow-up visit at 4 weeks. A cost analysis that encompassed the use of healthcare resources for treatment of the exacerbation was performed. RESULTS: A total of 260 patients were included, with a mean age of 68.3 years and a mean FEV1 (% predicted) of 58.9 %. Twenty-two percent of patients had significant cardiovascular comorbidity. The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were moxifloxacin in 137 cases and amoxicillin-clavulanate in 50 cases. The rate of failure at 4 weeks was 12.5 %, with no differences between the two most prescribed antibiotics; however, patients treated with moxifloxacin had symptoms for 1.9 fewer days (P = 0.01). The mean cost of the exacerbation was 344.96 (95 % CI: 48.55-641.78), with 9.6 % of the costs for drugs and 72.9 % for hospital care of patients for whom treatment had failed. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic treatment of our population was in compliance with local guidelines. The rate of failure observed in our study was lower than that reported in previous studies; however, the small percentage of patients that required hospital attention generated almost two-thirds of the total costs of the exacerbations.