Research Article

The Burden of Illness Related to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations in Québec, Canada

Table 1

Patient demographics and baseline characteristics.

⁢Exacerbation classificationTotal study population
= 53,349
“No”
= 25,259
Any (moderate or severe)
= 28,090
Moderate
= 17,288
Severe
= 10,802

Follow-up, years
Sum107,206129,52979,21850,310236,735
Mean (SD)4.24 (2.66)4.61 (2.70)4.73 (2.70)4.66 (2.73)4.43 (2.70)
Age, years
Mean (SD)65.85 (13.12)70.10 (12.21)66.96 (12.48)75.13 (9.87)68.09 (12.83)
Gender, female
(%)60.055.561.845.557.6
Comorbidity (%)
Respiratory disease14.526.934.245.621.0
Hypertension6.211.213.520.08.9
Depression4.27.89.413.76.1
Diabetes6.711.912.722.29.4
CCI score
mean (SD)1.00 (1.67)1.40 (1.87)0.92 (1.58)2.15 (2.03)1.21 (1.79)
Prior medications (prescriptions/patient)e
Antibiotics
Mean (SD)0.77 (2.20)0.83 (2.40)0.80 (2.17)0.88 (2.71)0.80 (2.31)
OCS
Mean (SD)0.28 (1.94)0.62 (4.49)0.49 (4.15)0.83 (4.98)0.46 (3.52)
SABA
Mean (SD)0.41 (2.29)0.86 (3.74)0.41 (2.63)1.58 (4.95)0.64 (3.15)
LABA/ICS
Mean (SD)0.07 (1.25)0.16 (1.74)0.08 (1.30)0.30 (2.28)0.12 (1.53)
Prior medical visits (visits/patient; COPD-related)e
GP
Mean (SD)0.40 (0.94)0.58 (1.64)0.25 (0.90)1.10 (2.29)0.50 (1.35)
Specialist
Mean (SD)0.06 (0.43)0.11 (0.68)0.03 (0.34)0.23 (0.99)0.08 (0.57)
ER
Mean (SD)0.10 (0.33)0.10 (0.38)0.05 (0.25)0.19 (0.51)0.10 (0.36)
Hospitalization
Mean (SD)0.06 (0.25)0.18 (0.42)0.04 (0.21)0.39 (0.55)0.12 (0.35)

A moderate exacerbation was defined as a physician visit with a diagnosis code for COPD and an OCS or an antibiotic prescription for a respiratory infection (filled within 2 weeks of the physician visit). Patients included in this column experienced ≥1 moderate exacerbations but no severe exacerbations. A severe exacerbation was defined as an ER visit with a primary diagnosis code for COPD or hospitalization with a primary discharge diagnosis code for COPD; patients included in this column experienced ≥1 severe exacerbation but may also have ≥1 moderate exacerbations; concomitant conditions prevalent in at least 5% of the total population reported; prevalent COPD and other concomitant respiratory conditions at baseline per eligibility criteria; during the 2-year look-back window. CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder; ER, emergency room; GP, general practitioner; ICS, inhaled corticosteroids; LABA, long-acting agonist; OCS, oral corticosteroids; SABA, short-acting β2 agonist; SD, standard deviation.