Objective: Many patients with COPD are misdiagnosed or under-treated. The characteristics of COPD patients and the patterns of treatment have not been well characterized in primary care settings. The objective of this study was to identify patterns of COPD onset, diagnosis and treatment with the goal of facilitating appropriate treatment at earlier stages.
Methods: A national electronic medical record database was used to identify patients with at least a 6-month history prior to a diagnosis of COPD (ICD-9 codes 491.xx, 492.xx, and 496). Pulmonary function test (PFT) results closest to the first diagnosis of COPD were evaluated to characterize disease severity using the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria. Prescription data were evaluated at the time of diagnosis. All descriptive statistics were conducted using STATA statistical software.
Results: A total of 14 691 patients met the study criteria. Prescription data were available for 9354 (64%) of these patients. Of this group, only slightly over 50% (n = 5264) had a respiratory-related prescription on the date of diagnosis. For those not having a respiratory drug at the time of diagnosis, the average time between diagnosis and the first respiratory-related prescription was 106 (SD +/- 256.4) days. Only 389 (<3%) patients had any PFT data recorded on or prior to the day of their first diagnosis of COPD, and only 273 (2%) had sufficient PFT data available to determine their GOLD severity class. The average time between diagnosis and first COPD prescription was greatest for patients in the lowest severity category (Class 0/I; 163 +/- 288.2 days), and smallest for patients in the highest severity category (Class IV; 124 +/- 152.3 days).
Conclusion: COPD is often not diagnosed or treated until the later stages of disease, and spirometry is not used routinely to diagnose, stage or guide treatment decisions.