COPD Flare-Up Clinic After Severe Exacerbations

Conditions

• COPD
• COPD Exacerbation (AECOPD)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

40 Years - 80 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Follow-up in a flare-up clinic — OTHER
  Participants in the intervention arm will attend a specialized "COPD flare-up clinic" for structured follow-up after hospitalization or ED visit due to acute COPD exacerbation. The program includes three in-person clinic visits at 1, 4, and 10 months after the first visit, and two additional structured telephone follow-up at 10 and 18 months. To assess cardiovascular outcomes, a follow-up phone call will be conducted 24 months after Visit 1.

Study Details

This prospective randomized controlled trial evaluates whether a specialized "COPD flare-up clinic service" improves outcomes in patients following an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Patients presenting to the emergency department with AECOPD and discharged or hospitalized will be randomized 1:1 to either structured follow-up in a dedicated flare-up clinic or standard follow-up by scheduled telephone interviews. The researches hypothesize that structured follow-up in a specialized clinic will reduce recurrent exacerbations, optimize long-term COPD management, and improve patients' quality of life compared to standard care.

Key Dates

First listed

Jun 5, 2026

Start date

Jul 1, 2026

Status verified

Jun 2026

Primary completion

Dec 31, 2028

Completion

Dec 31, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment

240 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Arms

• Experimental: Intervention
  The intervention will include 3 follow-up visits in the flare up clinic - the first visit (following randomization) will occur one month after hospital discharge (from ED or admission, baseline), the second at 3 months, and the third visit will be at 12 months from baseline. At 6 and 9 months after inclusion there will be an additional phone-call with structured interview similar to that of the control group. Visits include clinical evaluation, symptom assessment, spirometry, oscillometry, inhaler technique review, cardiovascular risk assessment, and treatment optimization according to GOLD recommendations.
• No Intervention: Control
  The control group will undergo baseline and 12 months in-person assessments including all questionnaires and physiological tests but without any medical interventions. Structured telephone follow-up at 3, 6, and 9 months will be performed by research coordinators to assess for the study outcomes.

Primary Outcome Measure

Rate of Moderate and Severe COPD Exacerbations [ Time Frame: From baseline to 12 months ]

Find similar trials

Related Studies

• Home Hospital for Suddenly Ill Adults
  Recruiting · Brigham and Women's Hospital · Boston, Massachusetts
• Impact of Positive Airway Pressure Therapy on Clinical Outcomes in Older Veterans With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Comorbid Obstructive Sleep Apnea (Overlap Syndrome)
  Recruiting · VA Office of Research and Development · Detroit, Michigan
• Hyperpolarized 129Xe MR Imaging of Lung Function in Healthy Volunteers and Subjects With Pulmonary Disease
  PHASE1 · Recruiting · Mario Castro, MD, MPH · Kansas City, Kansas
• Lung Macrophage Populations and Functions in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)-Susceptible Smokers
  Recruiting · University of California, San Francisco · San Francisco, California