Table 1.
Comparison of patients’ characteristics at baseline and 4 years later
| Baseline | 4 years | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients (number) | 55 | 51 | |
| Age (years) | 69 (8) | 69 (8) | 0.90 |
| Sex (female) | 15 | 7 | 0.09 |
| Current smoking (yes) | 8 | 5 | 0.46 |
| Frequency of clinic visits (per year) | 8 (4–18) | 7 (4–18) | 0.86 |
| Duration of disease (years) | 8.1 (10.6) | 7.4 (12.1) | 0.20 |
| Period of inhaler use (years) | 5.9 (6.7) | 4.7 (6.0) | 0.26 |
| Freq of inhaler use (per day) | 2.4 (1.0) | 1.9 (0.8) | 0.18 |
| Type of Inhaler (MDI:DPI:MDI + DPI) | 18:18:19 | 12:27:12 | 0.11 |
| Presence of comorbidities | 37 | 36 | 0.70 |
| Taking of antipsychotic drugs | 13 | 12 | 0.99 |
| Stage of COPD (1, 2, 3, 4) | 13, 30, 9, 3 | 10, 22, 15, 4 | 0.37 |
| FEV1% predicted value (%) | 68.1 (16.0) | 61.0 (18.4) | 0.052 |
| FEV1/FVC (%) | 56.3 (13.1) | 50.6 (14.4) | 0.058 |
| Number of patients regularly visiting a certified pharmacy | – | 39 |
Abbreviations: MDI, metered-dose inhaler; DPI, dry powder inhaler; FEV, forced expiratory volume; FVC, forced vital capacity; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.