COPD patient is at risk if care is deferred due to pandemic corona

The corona crisis is putting COPD care under great pressure. This is evident from the results of an online survey of 1500 COPD patients who have not had the corona virus. Most of the appointments in regular COPD care are forced to be canceled or moved more often due to the corona crisis. This can lead to more complications in the future. According to Onno van Schayck, professor of preventive medicine (Maastricht University), it is important that chronic care remains accessible.

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On the website doemeestopcopd.nl, patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have been invited to share their experiences and concerns about the coronavirus. This questionnaire was deployed from September 27 to November 2, 2020 and more than 1,500 patients responded.

Prof. Onno van Schayck has been involved in research into COPD and its treatment for more than 30 years. The survey shows the impact of the corona crisis on the lives of patients with COPD. He explains his concerns about the outcome of the survey: “COPD affects more than 600,000 people in the Netherlands and that number is only increasing.[1] It is therefore very important to keep care accessible to this group in order to maintain their health status. The differences between general practitioner and specialist care are striking: 47% of patients under treatment by the pulmonologist indicate that their COPD has worsened due to the consequences of the corona pandemic, compared to 26% of patients under treatment by the general practitioner. These figures reflect the downgrading of regular care due to the corona pandemic. The corona crisis also means that patients wish to speak to their treating physician more often. Instead of a physical meeting, video calling can be a valuable alternative. ”

This questionnaire has been drawn up in collaboration with Prof. Onno van Schayck from Maastricht University, lung patients / experts by experience and initiated by Chiesi.

The most important insights are:

• 79% of COPD patients experience concerns about contracting corona and 57% do not share these concerns with their healthcare provider or are unaware of this possibility.
• 61% of appointments are (out of necessity) canceled or moved.
• 19% of COPD patients in secondary care think their situation has deteriorated due to a lack of physical therapy.
• 59% of the patients have access to video calling, but 69% of the patients would prefer a face-to-face conversation with their doctor.
• 58% want to go back to the old way of personal contact.

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