TABLE 2.
Clinical Characteristics During the 12-Month Baseline Period
| All patients (N = 6,772) | Prompta (n = 2,968) | Delayedb (n = 1,998) | Very delayedc (n = 1,806) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elixhauser comorbidity index, mean (SD) | 4.1 (8.2) | 3.5 (7.7) | 4.2 (8.4) | 5.0 (8.7) | < 0.001 |
| Tobacco use, n (%) | 2,451 (36.2) | 990 (33.4) | 712 (35.6) | 749 (41.5) | < 0.001 |
| Any long-acting maintenance medication, n (%) | 3,781 (55.8) | 1,422 (47.9) | 1,156 (57.9) | 1,203 (66.6) | < 0.001 |
| ICS | 593 (8.8) | 197 (6.6) | 190 (9.5) | 206 (11.4) | < 0.001 |
| LABA | 126 (1.9) | 37 (1.2) | 39 (2.0) | 50 (2.8) | 0.001 |
| LAMA | 1,324 (19.6) | 524 (17.7) | 412 (20.6) | 388 (21.5) | 0.002 |
| LAMA/LABA | 73 (1.1) | 31 (1.0) | 25 (1.3) | 17 (0.9) | 0.634 |
| ICS/LABA | 2,339 (34.5) | 877 (29.5) | 682 (34.1) | 780 (43.2) | < 0.001 |
| Number of long-acting medication claims, mean (SD) | 2.8 (4.0) | 2.4 (3.8) | 2.9 (3.9) | 3.4 (4.3) | < 0.001 |
| Any short-acting medication, n (%) | 5,168 (76.3) | 2,099 (70.7) | 1,542 (77.2) | 1,527 (84.6) | < 0.001 |
| SABA | 4,205 (62.1) | 1,696 (57.1) | 1,241 (62.1) | 1,268 (70.2) | < 0.001 |
| SAMA | 447 (6.6) | 133 (4.5) | 131 (6.6) | 183 (10.1) | < 0.001 |
| SABA/SAMA | 1,319 (19.5) | 427 (14.4) | 377 (18.9) | 515 (28.5) | < 0.001 |
| Oral corticosteroid | 3,486 (51.5) | 1,321 (44.5) | 1,037 (51.9) | 1,128 (62.5) | < 0.001 |
| Number of short-acting medication claims, mean (SD) | 5.7 (7.5) | 4.3 (5.8) | 5.6 (7.2) | 8.2 (9.6) | < 0.001 |
| No long- or short-acting medications, n (%) | 1,252 (18.5) | 710 (23.9) | 330 (16.5) | 212 (11.7) | < 0.001 |
| Nebulizer use, n (%) | 812 (12.0) | 257 (8.7) | 232 (11.6) | 323 (17.9) | < 0.001 |
| Oxygen therapy, n (%) | 1,317 (19.4) | 364 (12.3) | 401 (20.1) | 552 (30.6) | < 0.001 |
| Any COPD-related primary care visit, n (%) | |||||
| Commercial/Medicare | 1,227 (25.9) | 497 (21.9) | 381 (27.6) | 349 (32.1) | < 0.001 |
| Medicaid | 791 (38.8) | 238 (34.0) | 254 (41.0) | 299 (41.6) | 0.005 |
| Number of COPD-related primary care visits, mean (SD) | |||||
| Commercial/Medicare | 0.59 (1.35) | 0.42 (0.99) | 0.62 (1.32) | 0.91 (1.89) | < 0.001 |
| Medicaid | 1.03 (1.91) | 0.74 (1.46) | 1.04 (1.77) | 1.31 (2.32) | < 0.001 |
| Any COPD-related pulmonologist visit, n (%) | |||||
| Commercial/Medicare | 529 (11.2) | 171 (7.5) | 172 (12.5) | 186 (17.1) | < 0.001 |
| Medicaid | 54 (2.6) | 12 (1.7) | 16 (2.6) | 26 (3.6) | 0.082 |
| Number of COPD-related pulmonologist visits, mean (SD) | |||||
| Commercial/Medicare | 0.24 (0.84) | 0.13 (0.54) | 0.28 (0.90) | 0.41 (1.16) | < 0.001 |
| Medicaid | 0.05 (0.33) | 0.03 (0.22) | 0.04 (0.29) | 0.07 (0.42) | 0.030 |
a Triple therapy within 30 days after or on the index exacerbation date.
b Triple therapy between 31 and 180 days after index exacerbation.
c Triple therapy between 181 and 365 days after index exacerbation.
COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICS = inhaled corticosteroid; LABA = long-acting β-agonist; LAMA = long-acting muscarinic antagonist; SABA = short-acting β-agonist; SAMA = short-acting muscarinic antagonist.