This cross-sectional observational study will collect information about changes in exacerbation frequency and behaviour amongst a clinical cohort of severe or complex COPD clinic patients. This will be done through a combination of telephone survey and access to electronic heath records.
This study will be a cross-sectional observational study utilising a telephone survey.
After obtaining informed verbal consent participants will be asked to recall their symptoms,
exacerbation events and exacerbation medication usage over the periods of 01/03/20 - 14/03/20
(pre-lockdown) and then 15/03/20 to 30/04/20 (lockdown).
A structured survey will follow on from this asking questions regarding behaviour including
self-isolation, shielding, other household contacts, visitors to the home, arrangements for
shopping, changes in smoking behaviour (including that of other smokers in the household),
medication changes, self-reported change in use of preventer medication, self-reported change
in walking/activity levels and self-reported changes in anxiety levels.
Baseline clinical data will subsequently also be collected from the comprehensive respiratory
review previously performed in the complex COPD clinic (comprising both hospital and GP
records.) This will include previous AECOPD phenotyping (eosinophil levels, sputum culture
and viral PCR), previous lung function testing, prescribed medication, BMI and smoking status
and history. Previous AECOPD events will be counted and graded based on GP antibiotic or
steroid prescriptions and hospital admissions.
Participants will be contacted once as part of the main study following verbal informed
consent (via telephone). This will be a brief survey as described above, lasting
approximately 20 minutes. A second similar survey will take place up to 12 months after the
initial contact to evaluate longitudinal changes associated with the lockdown (further
details on this will be submitted as an amendment at a later date due the shifting and
unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, this will be prior to initiating
these second calls).
Additional clinical data will be collected from healthcare records to quantify disease
severity. Participant postcodes will be collected to link results with changes in local air
pollution as recorded or estimated during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Inclusion Criteria:
1. Confirmed clinical diagnosis of COPD
2. Ability to provide informed verbal consent via English language telephone consultation
3. Adults aged over 40 years
Exclusion Criteria:
1. Patients currently admitted to hospital
2. Unwilling/unable to provide informed consent
NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (Respiratory), Glenfield Hospital
Leicester, United Kingdom
Neil J Greening, PhD, Principal Investigator
University of Leicester