Figures & data
Figure 1 Flow of patients through the study. Complexity is used as a surrogate for COPD disease severity, and methodology for classification is described in full elsewhere.Citation12
Abbreviation: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Table 1 Patient characteristics
Table 2 Medications of interest: COPD patients
Figure 2 Respiratory medication patterns in COPD patientsa. (A) Commercial (n = 42,565) and (B) Medicare (n = 8507).
Notes:
aIndividual medication groups are mutually exclusive. “Other combinations” includes: theophylline (methylxanthine bronchodilator) alone; short-acting anticholinergic plus theophylline; anticholinergic (short-acting or long-acting) plus theophylline plus inhaled corticosteroid; LABA; long-acting anticholinergic plus inhaled corticosteroid; SAAC; short-acting anticholinergic plus LABA; LABA plus theophylline plus inhaled corticosteroid.
Abbreviations: Ach, anticholinergics; ICS, inhaled corticosteroid; LAAC, long-acting anticholinergic; LABA, long-acting β2-agonist inhaled bronchodilator; SAAC, short-acting anticholinergic; SABA, short-acting β2-agonist bronchodilator.
Abbreviations: Ach, anticholinergics; ICS, inhaled corticosteroid; LAAC, long-acting anticholinergic; LABA, long-acting β2-agonist inhaled bronchodilator; SAAC, short-acting anticholinergic; SABA, short-acting β2-agonist bronchodilator.
Table 3 Adherence (shown as average medication possession ratio) to COPD-related medications in commercial and Medicare datasets