Integrated Clinic Improves Care for COPD Patients withโ Cardiac Complications โat Bari Polyclinic
The Bari Polyclinic has launched a new Pneumology–Cardiology Clinic designed to provide a streamlined,โ integrated care pathway for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and its frequently โassociated cardiac complications. This initiative, spearheaded by Prof. โElisiana Carpagnano (Director, University Pneumology), Prof. Andrea Igoren guaricci (Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases), and Prof.Marco Matteo โขCiccone (Director, University Cardiology), โaims to improve the timelinessโ and quality of care by fostering collaboration between pulmonologists and cardiologists.
COPD, a progressive lung disease affectingโ millions worldwide and ranking as the third leading cause of death globally, often leads to reduced oxygen levels that negatively impact the heart and circulatory system. Up to 50% of COPD patients develop concurrent cardiac conditions like hypertension, arrhythmias, and ischemic heart โdisease, considerably worsening their prognosis and โquality of life.Survival rates after a severe COPD exacerbation can be as low as 3.6 years, highlighting the critical โlink between โlung and heart health.
Unlike traditional access โthrough theโ regional health system (Cup), patients โฃare referred to the integrated Clinic from local COPD clinics, following โhospitalization for respiratory issues, or through โคpreliminary evaluations โขidentifying individuals at highโ risk for cardiovascular disease.
The clinic offers simultaneous respiratoryโข and cardiological assessments, utilizing testsโฃ such as spirometry, DLCO, oximetry, blood gasโค analysis, ECG, echocardiogram, and NT-proBNP analysis, alongside risk stratification. A key feature is the collaborative development โof โขpersonalizedโฃ treatment plans by pulmonologists and cardiologists, with potential โfor rapid access to advanced diagnosticsโ including fibrobronchoscopy, stress ECG, coronary angiography, cardiac catheterization,โฃ and sleep apnea therapy. Ongoing patient follow-up incorporates scheduled visits, telephone monitoring,โค and digital โtools to promote adherence to treatment.
Initial results, submitted for โขpublication in an international scientific journal and approved by the Polyclinic of Bari’s Ethics Committee (with โregistration pending on ClinicalTrials.gov), demonstrate โtheโข clinic’s impact. After six months of operation,18% of patients received a new significantโ cardiological diagnosis,and over aโ third experienced beneficial changes to theirโ respiratory and/or cardiac therapies,leading to improved prognosis.
The multidisciplinary team providing this integrated care includes medical managers Dr.VN Quaranta,Dr. A. Portacci, Prof. S. Dragonieri, โฃDr. Romito,and Dr.L. Ligurgo, โขalongside professional nursing staff โฃN.Carlucci, A.Giannoccaro, and C. Vernice.