Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease that is characterised by narrowing of the airways, which results in shortness of breath and other symptoms (including persistent cough, chest infections and wheezing). COPD is confirmed clinically via the use of spirometry which measures the air capacity of the lungs. However, previous studies have shown that there are long delays between the first time such symptoms are presented in patients and the time that they are diagnosed with COPD. Therefore this study aims to look at the factors that can affect the length of these delays. Missing opportunities to diagnose COPD ultimately delays initiation of treatment which is crucial to prevent disease progression and may impact on the patients' quality of life.
This study is a non-interventional cohort study using CPRD data, with the aim of examining missed opportunities to diagnose COPD. Research suggests that opportunities to diagnose COPD at early disease stages are being missed, and that delays of diagnosis can take up to 20 years. As a result, the objective of this study is to investigate the drivers behind these delays, by comparing cases in which patients were diagnosed with COPD at an earlier stage to cases in which patients were diagnosed at a much later stage of the disease. Multivariate regression analysis will be used to identify drivers of delay in diagnosis and describe how these factors change according to disease severity at diagnosis. The results of this study can be used to determine which patient groups are at high risk of being diagnosed later and with more severe disease prognosis, and support active case finding, to ensure that earlier diagnosis of COPD takes place when possible, and that patients are then treated accordingly.
Time to diagnosis of COPD; Factor associated with time to diagnosis; Characteristics of patients prior to diagnosis of COPD.
Alicia Gayle - Chief Investigator - Imperial College London
Alicia Gayle - Corresponding Applicant - Imperial College London
Deborah Clarke - Collaborator - Boehringer-Ingelheim - UK
Eleonora Skentzou - Collaborator - Boehringer-Ingelheim - UK
Graham Burns - Collaborator - Boehringer-Ingelheim - UK
Jean Lotoya Binns - Collaborator - Boehringer-Ingelheim - UK
Joe Lipworth - Collaborator - Boehringer-Ingelheim - UK
Scott Dickinson - Collaborator - Boehringer-Ingelheim - UK
HES Admitted Patient Care;Patient Level Townsend Score;Practice Level Index of Multiple Deprivation