Monitoring Asthma and COPD in Primary Care

In the Netherlands, the majority of patients (60-80 %) with asthma or COPD are treated in primary care, primarily by General Practitioners (GPs). In 1995 a Regional Diagnostic Centre, Etten-Leur, The Netherlands (also called SHL: Stichting Huisartsen Laboratorium) started a lung function monitoring service for patients with asthma and COPD of GPs in the region. The GP receives recommendations on treatment, additional diagnostics and referrals of the patient based on extensive anamnesis (i.e. dyspnoea, symptoms, smoking stage), measurement of lung function, and BMI. Moreover,the general practitioners are supported by an Asthma/COPD nurse that visit the general practice half-yearly.

Main research question of this study: Is a written expert advice for GPs on additional diagnostic, treatment, and referral of patients based on half-yearly monitoring of patients with COPD or asthma with a persistent airway obstruction with support of an AC nurse consultant related to less impaired health related quality of life (HRQoL), less symptoms and better lung function of the patients compared to usual care?

A multi-centre, single blinded (patient, lung function assistant, advisor, and research team are blinded), parallel group study is carried out to compare the monitoring intervention with usual care during 24 months. General practices were allocated by a minimisation procedure and all participating patients of a general practice were allocated to the same treatment group (nested design).

Inclusion criteria

• The patient is categorised as asthmatic disease with persistent airway obstruction or COPD in the monitoring system SHL confirmed by the most recent lung function assessment (FEV1/FVC < 70% after BD and FEV1 ≥ 50% pred after BD) or (FEV1 < 80% predicted after BD and ≥ 9% reversibility)
• The patient is monitored by the AC service of the SHL.
• The GP of the patient is willing to participate in the trial.
• Written informed consent of participant

Exclusion criteria

• Patients treated primary by a pulmonologist
• Patients currently participating in another respiratory intervention study
• When the GP considers it detrimental to the patient to participate in the study
• Serious other non-pulmonary diseases (or disease-stages) that are presumed to lead to "lost to follow-up" because of the severity of the disease course (like diseases with low survival rate or mental deterioration)
• Serious other pulmonary diseases that effect bronchial symptoms and/or lung function, e.g. sarcoidosis, lung cancer, lung fibrosis
• Illiteracy