Lack of COPD-Related Follow-Up Visits and Pharmacological Treatment in Swedish Primary and Secondary Care

Objective: The Swedish guidelines recommend that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on maintenance treatment are monitored annually, and within six weeks after an exacerbation. We describe the patterns of COPD-related visits in Sweden, both regular follow-up and post-exacerbation visits.

Methods: Patients (>40 years) with a first-time COPD diagnosis between 2006 and 2017 were identified in primary care medical records and linked to hospital contacts and administered drug data. The index date was defined as the first collection of inhaled COPD maintenance treatment after the diagnosis. Regular COPD visits within 15-months after the index, and post-exacerbation visits for COPD within six weeks and 15-months after an exacerbation were estimated using the cumulative incidence function adjusted for competing risk. Visits without a ICD code for COPD were not included in the analyses.

Results: A total of 19,857 patients (mean age 69 years, 57% females) were included. The overall probability of having a regular follow-up visit for COPD within 15 months post-index was 39.1%. In total, 15,095 (76%) patients experienced at least one COPD exacerbation during the observation period. Among them, the probability of having a post-exacerbation visit was 7.0% within six weeks and 29.7% within 15-months. Patients without a regular COPD follow-up visit claimed significantly more oral corticosteroids (25.6% vs 15.6%), more respiratory antibiotics (39.1% vs 23.1%), and less maintenance treatment (10.9% vs 16.5%).

Conclusion: Only 39% of COPD patients attended a regular follow-up visit within 15-months from the COPD diagnosis and one-third had a post-exacerbation visit. The adherence to guideline recommendations need to be improved.