Eva Brøndum

Risk factors for rehospitalisation in COPD: role of health status, anxiety and depression

The aim of the present study was to analyse the risk of rehospitalisation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and associated risk factors. This prospective study included 416 patients from a university hospital in each of the five Nordic countries. Data included demographic information, spirometry, comorbidity and 12 month follow-up for 406 patients. The hospital anxiety and depression scale and St. Georges Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) were applied to all patients. The number of patients that had a re-admission within 12 months was 246 (60.6%). Patients that had a re-admission had lower lung function and health status. A low forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and health status were independent predictors for re-admission. Hazard ratio (HR; 95% CI) was 0.82 (0.74–0.90) per 10% increase of the predicted FEV1 and 1.06 (1.02–1.10) per 4 units increase in total SGRQ score. The risk of rehospitalisation was also increased in subjects with anxiety (HR 1.76 (1.16–2.68)) and in subjects with low health status (total SGRQ score >60 units). When comparing the different subscales in the SGRQ, the closest relation between the risk of rehospitalisation was seen with the activity scale (HR 1.07 (1.03–1.11) per 4 unit increase). In patients with low health status, anxiety is an important risk factor for rehospitalisation. This may be important for patient treatment and warrants further studies.

Mortality in COPD patients discharged from hospital: the role of treatment and co-morbidity

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to analyse mortality and associated risk factors, with special emphasis on health status, medications and co-morbidity, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that had been hospitalized for acute exacerbation.MethodsThis prospective study included 416 patients from each of the five Nordic countries that were followed for 24 months. The St. Georges Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was administered. Information on treatment and co-morbidity was obtained.ResultsDuring the follow-up 122 (29.3%) of the 416 patients died. Patients with diabetes had an increased mortality rate [HR = 2.25 (1.28–3.95)]. Other risk factors were advanced age, low FEV1 and lower health status. Patients treated with inhaled corticosteroids and/or long-acting beta-2-agonists had a lower risk of death than patients using neither of these types of treatment.ConclusionMortality was high after COPD admission, with older age, decreased lung function, lower health status and diabetes the most important risk factors. Treatment with inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators may be associated with lower mortality in patients with COPD.

Long-term effects of 1-year maintenance training on physical functioning and health status in patients with COPD: A randomized controlled study.

PURPOSE To examine whether maintenance training (MT) for 1 year improved the long-term effects of a 7-week chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rehabilitation program. METHODS After a 7-week outpatient rehabilitation program, 96 patients with COPD were randomized to either an MT group (n = 55) or a control group (n = 41). Both groups were requested to continue unsupervised training at home. The MT group received weekly supervised training the first 6 months, supervised training every second week the next 6 months, and finally no supervised training the last 6 months of the 18-month study period. Primary effect parameters were Endurance Shuttle Walk Test (ESWT) time and health status (St. Georges Respiratory Questionnaire, SGRQ). Secondary effect parameters were adherence to supervised training, dropout rates, and hospitalization. RESULTS Compared with the control group, the MT group had significantly better ESWT times at 3 and 6 months (+43.9 seconds; P= .03, and +75.1 seconds; P= .02) and insignificantly higher ESWT time at 12 months (+66.6 seconds; P= .40). SGRQ total score declined gradually after the 7-week program with no difference between the 2 groups, and after 18 months, the score was 1.7 units (95% confidence interval: −0.7 to 4.1) worse than at randomization. There was no difference between the 2 groups regarding dropout rates or hospitalization. DISCUSSION Weekly MT for 12 months improved walking time but had no influence on health-related quality of life or hospital admissions, compared with unsupervised daily training at home. The effect of the MT was closely related to adherence to the program.

Long-term survival in patients hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a prospective observational study in the Nordic countries.

Background and aim Mortality rate is high in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our aim was to investigate long-term mortality and associated risk factors in COPD patients previously hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation. Methods A total of 256 patients from the Nordic countries were followed for 8.7 ± 0.4 years after the index hospitalization in 2000–2001. Prior to discharge, the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire was administered and data on therapy and comorbidities were obtained. Information on long-term mortality was obtained from national registries in each of the Nordic countries. Results In total, 202 patients (79%) died during the follow up period, whereas 54 (21%) were still alive. Primary cause of death was respiratory (n = 116), cardiovascular (n = 43), malignancy (n = 28), other (n = 10), or unknown (n = 5). Mortality was related to older age, with a hazard risk ratio (HRR) of 1.75 per 10 years, lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (HRR 0.80), body mass index (BMI) <20 kg/m2 (HRR 3.21), and diabetes (HRR 3.02). Older age, lower BMI, and diabetes were related to both respiratory and cardiovascular mortality. An association was also found between lower FEV1 and respiratory mortality, whereas mortality was not significantly associated with therapy, anxiety, or depression. Conclusion Almost four out of five patients died within 9 years following an admission for COPD exacerbation. Increased mortality was associated with older age, lower lung function, low BMI, and diabetes, and these factors should be taken into account when making clinical decisions about patients who have been admitted to hospital for a COPD exacerbation.

Shuttle walking test as predictor of survival in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients enrolled in a rehabilitation program.

BACKGROUND: The Incremental Shuttle Walking Test (ISWT) is used to assess exercise capacity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is employed as an outcome measure for pulmonary rehabilitation. We studied the value of this test in predicting survival in COPD patients enrolled in a rehabilitation program. METHODS: A total of 416 patients performed an ISWT before entering a 7-week outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program. Their survival was observed over a mean period of 4.5 years (range = 1.2–7.2 years). RESULTS: During the observation period, 169 (40.6%) patients died. Univariate analyses showed that the ISWT as well as age, gender, present and previous tobacco smoking, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, body mass index, oxygen saturation at rest, long-term oxygen therapy, Medical Research Council dyspnea score, and treatment with oral corticosteroids were significantly associated with survival. Multivariate analysis, including relevant confounders, revealed that low ISWT was independently associated with poor survival (P = .001). The association was not linear and the risk of dying increased markedly when ISWT was lower than 170 m (RR = 2.84, 95% CI: 2.05–3.93). CONCLUSION: This study shows that the ISWT is a strong and independent predictor of survival in patients with COPD enrolled in a rehabilitation program.

Rehabilitation in COPD: the long-term effect of a supervised 7-week program succeeded by a self-monitored walking program.

Pulmonary rehabilitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improves exercise tolerance and health status, however, these effects have been shown to decline after termination of the rehabilitation program. This study has examined the long-term effect of a 7-week supervised rehabilitation program combined with daily self-monitored training at home on exercise tolerance and health status. Two hundred and nine consecutive COPD patients who had completed a 7-week pulmonary rehabilitation program were assessed with endurance shuttle walk test (ESWT) and the St Georges Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) at baseline, 0, 3, and 12 months after the program. Sixty-eight (32.5%) patients did not attend the 1-year follow-up. Among the 141 patients who competed the 1-year evaluation, the initial improvement after the 7-week program in the ESWT time was 180 s or 101% (p = 0.001) and in SGRQ 3.4 units (p = 0.001). These effects were maintained at the 1-year evaluation (ESWT 59% above baseline; p < 0.001 and improved SGRQ 3.0 units compared with baseline; p = 0.011). The 31 patients who attended the 6-month, but not the 12-month evaluation, improved ESWT time by 96 s (p = 0.02) without any change in SGRQ +2.0 (p = 0.40). A relative simple and inexpensive 7-week supervised rehabilitation program combined with daily self-monitored training at home was able to maintain significant improvement in exercise tolerance and health status throughout 1 year. Death and hospital admissions due to acute exacerbations were the main reasons for non-attendance in the follow-up period.

Effect of tele health care on exacerbations and hospital admissions in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized clinical trial

Background and objective Tele monitoring (TM) of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has gained much interest, but studies have produced conflicting results. Our aim was to investigate the effect of TM with the option of video consultations on exacerbations and hospital admissions in patients with severe COPD. Materials and methods Patients with severe COPD at high risk of exacerbations were eligible for the study. Of 560 eligible patients identified, 279 (50%) declined to participate. The remaining patients were equally randomized to either TM (n=141) or usual care (n=140) for the 6-month study period. TM comprised recording of symptoms, saturation, spirometry, and weekly video consultations. Algorithms generated alerts if readings breached thresholds. Both groups received standard care. The primary outcome was number of hospital admissions for exacerbation of COPD during the study period. Results Most of the enrolled patients had severe COPD (forced expiratory volume in 1 second <50%pred in 86% and ≥hospital admission for COPD in the year prior to enrollment in 45%, respectively, of the patients). No difference in drop-out rate and mortality was found between the groups. With regard to the primary outcome, no significant difference was found in hospital admissions for COPD between the groups (P=0.74), and likewise, no difference was found in time to first admission or all-cause hospital admissions. Compared with the control group, TM group patients had more moderate exacerbations (ie, treated with antibiotics/corticosteroid, but not requiring hospital admission; P<0.001), whereas the control group had more visits to outpatient clinics (P<0.001). Conclusion Our study of patients with severe COPD showed that TM including video consultations as add-on to standard care did not reduce hospital admissions for exacerbated COPD, but TM may be an alternative to visits at respiratory outpatient clinics. Further studies are needed to establish the optimal role of TM in the management of severe COPD.

Do telemedical interventions improve quality of life in patients with COPD? A systematic review

Objective Telehealth is an approach to disease management, which may hold the potential of improving some of the features associated with COPD, including positive impact on disease progression, and thus possibly limiting further reduction in quality of life (QoL). Our objective was, therefore, to summarize studies addressing the impact of telehealth on QoL in patients with COPD. Design Systematic review. Methods A series of systematic searches were carried out using the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and ClinicalTrials.gov (last updated November 2015). A predefined search algorithm was utilized with the intention to capture all results related to COPD, QoL, and telehealth published since year 2000. Outcome measures Primary outcome was QoL, assessed by validated measures. Results Out of the 18 studies fulfilling the criteria for inclusion in this review, three studies found statistically significant improvements in QoL for patients allocated to telemedical interventions. However, all of the other included studies found no statistically significant differences between control and telemedical intervention groups in terms of QoL. Conclusion Telehealth does not make a strong case for itself when exclusively looking at QoL as an outcome, since statistically significant improvements relative to control groups have been observed only in few of the available studies. Nonetheless, this does not only rule out the possibility that telehealth is superior to standard care with regard to other outcomes but also seems to call for more research, not least in large-scale controlled trials.

Effect of tele–health care on quality of life in patients with severe COPD: a randomized clinical trial

Background and objective Telemonitoring (TM) of patients with COPD has gained much interest, but studies have produced conflicting results. We aimed to investigate the effect of TM with the option of video consultations on quality of life (QoL) in patients with severe COPD. Patients and methods COPD patients at high risk of exacerbations were eligible for the 6-month study and a total of 281 patients were equally randomized to either TM (n=141) or usual care (n=140). TM comprised recording of symptoms, oxygen saturation, spirometry, and video consultations. Algorithms generated alerts if readings breached thresholds. Both groups filled in a health-related QoL questionnaire (15D©) and the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) at baseline and at 6 months. Within-group differences were analyzed by paired t-test. Results Most of the enrolled patients had severe COPD (86% with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage 3 or 4 and 45% with admission for COPD within the last year, respectively). No difference in drop-out rate and mortality was found between the groups, and likewise there was no difference in 15D or CAT at baseline. At 6 months, a significant improvement of 0.016 in 15D score (p=0.03; minimal clinically important difference 0.015) was observed in the TM group (compared to baseline), while there was no improvement in the control group −0.003 (p=0.68). After stratifying 15D score at baseline to <0.75 or ≥0.75, respectively, there was a significant difference in the <0.75 TM group of 0.037 (p=0.001), which is a substantial improvement. No statistically significant changes were found in CAT score. Conclusion Compared to the nonintervention group, TM as an add-on to usual care over a 6-month period improved QoL, as assessed by the 15D questionnaire, in patients with severe COPD, whereas no difference between groups was observed in CAT score.