AzTrials
AzTrials

Pulmonary Disease, Chronic ObstructiveNCT02725294

Understanding Patient Management of COPD Exacerbations

An observational study of Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, run by VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

This observational study will examine the care-seeking behaviors of Veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to see whether patients' perceived need for care or lack of access to care leads to delays in getting care for COPD exacerbations. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
What is being tested?
This is an observational study without an intervention
How many people
436 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Aug 2016to Mar 2022
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Study population: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who receive care at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, WA or the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver, CO. Informal caregivers (ie. family member or friend) to the Veteran subject will also be included

Who may be able to join

  • COPD diagnosis
  • Spirometry showing FEV1/VC<0.70
  • COPD exacerbation treated with prednisone and/or antibiotics, or that resulted in a visit to the emergency department or hospitalization in the previous 12 months
  • English speaking
  • Access to telephone
  • Identified by Veteran patient as informal caregiver
Show all 9Show fewer
  • English speaking
  • Access to telephone
  • >=18 years old

Who cannot join

  • nursing home resident
  • institutionalized, imprisoned
  • life expectancy < 1 year
  • Informal Caregiver Cohort:

About this study

This observational study will examine the care-seeking behaviors of Veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to see whether patients' perceived need for care or lack of access to care leads to delays in getting care for COPD exacerbations. Participants complete a baseline in-person visit and receive calls every two weeks for one year to monitor for COPD exacerbations. Detailed information about each exacerbation and time to care are obtained. A sample of participants and their caregivers participate in in-depth interviews. Approximately half the participants will also use a remote inhaler monitor to record their albuterol inhaler use to see if this approach can identify early exacerbations. Results from this study will be used to develop an intervention that will assist Veterans in the early identification, evaluation, and treatment of exacerbations, and will be integrated with the VA primary care team.

Read the detailed description

Prompt treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations with oral steroids and/or antibiotics, ideally within 3 days of onset of symptoms, can decrease the severity and duration of exacerbations and may reduce the risk of COPD hospitalizations. This observational study will examine Veterans' care-seeking behaviors and will focus on patients' perceived need for care and perceived access to care and whether these factors delay seeking care for COPD exacerbations, increasing the risk for hospitalizations. This study will also evaluate one approach of identifying early exacerbations through the use of a remote inhaler monitoring system.

This observational cohort study enrolled 412 Veterans with COPD at high-risk for exacerbations. As of March 2019, 246 participants have completed the 1 year follow-up; 133 are in follow-up. The Specific Aims are: 1) Examine the barriers to seeking care for COPD exacerbations or worsening breathing; 2) Test the use of a real-time remote inhaler monitor to identify early exacerbations.

All participants attended one in-person baseline visit to complete spirometry and baseline questionnaires. Participants are contacted every 2 weeks for 1 year using an interactive voice response system that screens for COPD exacerbations with 4 yes/no questions. Participants with a positive screen are called back by research staff to obtain additional detailed information on the exacerbation and how it was treated. Data analysis will examine whether access to care and baseline factors are associated with a delay in treatment.

The participants enrolled at two sites: 252 participants at VA Puget Sound in Seattle, WA and 160 participants at the VA Eastern Colorado in Denver, CO. For Aim 1, 60 participants who reported a COPD exacerbation (either hospitalized, seen in the emergency department, treated as outpatients, or did not seek treatment) participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews by a trained research staff to understand how they responded to their worsening symptoms and decided whether to seek care. 24 caregivers for these Veterans were interviewed about their perspective on the exacerbation event.

In Aim 2, 145 participants from Aim 1 used an inhaler monitor with their albuterol inhaler during the 12-month follow-up period, which transmits real-time data about their daily inhaler use. Data analysis will measure whether a change in albuterol use can predict patient reported COPD exacerbations to determine the appropriate cut-offs that can be used in a future intervention trial.

These aims will provide detailed information on how best to intervene to ensure prompt identification and treatment of COPD exacerbations. New health care delivery approaches will assist Veterans in early identification of exacerbations and provide early access to care that can be integrated into the VA primary care, emergency medicine and pulmonary specialty care settings.

Being tested
This is an observational study without an intervention
Keywords
exacerbation, access to care, telemedicine
Medical subject headings
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • This is an observational study without an interventionOther

    Not applicable. This is an observational study without an intervention.

Study groups in NCT02725294
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
COPD patientsVeterans with COPD who are cared for at VA Puget Sound Health Care System (Seattle, WA) or VA Eastern Colorado (Denver, CO) who are at high risk for a COPD exacerbation based on an exacerbation treated with prednisone or antibiotics in the year preceding enrollment.
Receives: Other: This is an observational study without an intervention
Informal Caregiver for COPD patientsInformal caregiver (ie. family member, friend, etc.) for the patient with COPD who is participating in the COPD patients cohort.
Receives: Other: This is an observational study without an intervention

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Decision to seek care

    All participants with at least one exacerbation will be included in this analysis. Individuals could have both treated or untreated exacerbations and the unit of analysis will be each patient-exacerbation event. The outcome will be whether the patient sought treatment (yes/no) for their COPD exacerbation.

    Measured: Determined for each exacerbation event during the 1-year follow-up period

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Treatment delay

    Only patients with ≥1 treated exacerbation during follow-up will be included in this analysis. A patient could have more than one exacerbation, and the unit of analysis will be each patient-exacerbation event

    Measured: Determined for each treated exacerbation event during the 1-year follow-up period

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted31 Mar 2016 (estimated)
  2. Study startAug 2016
  3. Primary completionNov 2019 (estimated)
  4. Study completionMar 2022 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
436 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02725294
Sponsor's protocol ID
00874
Status last verified
Mar 2019
First submitted
28 Mar 2016
Last updated
2 Apr 2019
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Locke ER, Thomas RM, Simpson TL, Fortney JC, Battaglia C, Trivedi RB, Gylys-Colwell J, Swenson ER, Edelman JD, Fan VS. Cognitive and Emotional Responses to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations and Patterns of Care Seeking. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2024 Apr;21(4):559-567. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202303-287OC.

    PubMed 37966313
  • Locke ER, Young JP, Battaglia C, Simpson TL, Trivedi R, Simons C, Fortney JC, Hebert P, Swenson ER, Edelman J, Fan VS. Care-seeking and delay of care during COPD exacerbations. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2022 Feb 15;32(1):7. doi: 10.1038/s41533-022-00269-9.

    PubMed 35169140

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, run by VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 9 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Apr 2019. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Decision to seek care (time frame: Determined for each exacerbation event during the 1-year follow-up period). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02725294, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Apr 2019.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in