Cluster randomised controlled trial of specialist-led integrated COPD care (INTEGR COPD).
Author
Patel, KetanPye, Anita
Edgar, Ross G
Beadle, Helen
Ellis, Paul R
Sitch, Alice
Dickens, Andrew P
Turner, Alice M
Publication date
2024-01-29Subject
Respiratory medicine
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Abstract Objective: Studies in hospital settings demonstrate that there is greater guideline adherence when care is delivered by a respiratory specialist, however, this has not been explored in primary care. The aim of this study is to determine the impact integrating respiratory specialists into primary care has on the delivery of guideline adherent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care. Methods: 18 general practitioner (GP) practices were randomised to provide either usual or specialist-led COPD care. Patients at participating practices were included if they had an existing diagnosis of COPD. Outcomes were measured at the individual patient level. The primary outcome was guideline adherence, assessed as achieving four or more items of the COPD care bundle. Secondary outcome measures included quality of life, number of exacerbations, number of COPD-related hospitalisations and respiratory outpatient attendances. Results: 586 patients from 10 practices randomised to the intervention and 656 patients from 8 practices randomised to the control arm of the study were included. The integration of respiratory specialists into GP practices led to a statistically significant (p<0.001) improvement in the provision of guideline adherent care when compared with usual care in this cohort (92.7% vs 70.1%) (OR 4.14, 95% CI 2.14 to 8.03). Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate that guideline adherence is improved through the integration of respiratory specialists into GP practices to deliver annual COPD reviews. To facilitate changes in current healthcare practice and policy, the findings of this paper need to be viewed in combination with qualitative research exploring the acceptability of specialist integration. Trial registration number: NCT03482700. Keywords: COPD Exacerbations; COPD epidemiology.Citation
Patel K, Pye A, Edgar RG, Beadle H, Ellis PR, Sitch A, Dickens AP, Turner AM. Cluster randomised controlled trial of specialist-led integrated COPD care (INTEGR COPD). Thorax. 2024 Jan 29:thorax-2023-220435. doi: 10.1136/thorax-2023-220435.Type
ArticleAdditional Links
https://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2024/01/29/thorax-2023-220435PMID
38286619Journal
ThoraxPublisher
BMJ Publishing Groupae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1136/thorax-2023-220435