Burden of Frequent and Infrequent Exacerbating Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Trial description: The clinical course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is marked by acute episodes of worsening respiratory symptoms including dyspnea, sputum production, sputum purulence, and cough called exacerbations. Exacerbations are the most important contributor to the high morbidity and mortality associated with COPD, which is the third-leading cause of chronic morbidity and mortality in the United States (US). Not all patients experience exacerbations, and the currently available literature on the clinical course for patients who infrequently exacerbate is limited. The current study will evaluate and compare patients who frequently or infrequently exacerbate on the outcomes of subsequent exacerbations, as well as on COPD-related resource use and costs, and all-cause resource use and costs. The objective of this study is to characterize the health care burden of patients with COPD who frequently and infrequently exacerbate. The study is descriptive in nature, and results will be used to generate hypotheses for future studies. The study will use the MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database (Commercial) and the MarketScan Medicare Supplemental and Coordination of Benefits Database (Medicare). The Commercial database contains integrated medical and pharmacy claims data that are sourced directly from health plans and employers and represent over 35 million commercial lives annually. The Medicare database contains claims data for approximately 3.1 million Medicare-eligible retirees with employer-sponsored Medicare Supplemental plans. The study design is a retrospective, observational cohort study.