Patient related factors associated with COPD management in primary care

05 May 2022
Clinical Research Results Abstract IntroductionIn Sweden, most COPD patients are managed in primary care. Chronic disease management is often a complex task as multimorbidity is common in COPD patients. Swedish primary care physicians (PCPs) typically manage multiple health conditions during a single consultation and a routine care visit may take up to 30 minutes. The aim of this study, that was a part of the PRAXIS study, was to describe patient-related factors associated with having COPD regularly reviewed in primary care.MethodsPatients with a doctor’s diagnosis of COPD (n=1190) were randomly selected from 76 primary health care centres in central Sweden. There were 713 patients with complete data on comorbidity, lung function, and exacerbations from self-completion questionnaires in 2014, and medical record reviews from 2004 to 2014. To have had at least one routine visit to a PCP that included monitoring of COPD (reference to COPD symptoms or management in the records) during 2012-2014 was used as a measure of regular COPD-related meetings with a PCP.ResultsAmong 713 patients, mean age 67.7 years (SD 6.3), 54% were women. Some 345 (48%) received regular PCP-meetings. Logistic regression with regular PCP-meetings during the previous two years as dependent variable, and adjustment for age, sex, lung function, site location, and BMI, showed associations with exacerbation(s) in the previous six months OR 2.16 (95% CI 1.50-3.10), hypertension OR 1.79 (95% CI 1.27-2.52), and depression OR 1.49 (95% CI 0.96-2.31). Patients with no COPD-related PCP visits (52% of all patients) had significantly fewer comorbidities, fewer exacerbations, and better lung function.DiscussionCOPD patients received regular monitoring if they had frequent exacerbations, greater disease severity or comorbidity suggesting that those in need of attention also received it. Research Idea Abstract Service Development & Evaluation Abstract Declaration of Interest C.S., M.H., S.M., M.K., K.L. none to declare.C.J., B.S. and J.S. have nothing to declare in relation to the present study.H.S. has received honoraria for educational activities from Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Chiesi, and TEVA. References and Clinical Trial Registry Information

Resource information

Respiratory conditions
  • COPD
Type of resource
Abstract
Conference
Malaga 2022
Author(s)
Carolina Smith, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden