Methods	RCT Concealment of allocation: DONE Blinded assessment of outcomes: NOT DONE Follow- up of patients: 3 months Baseline measurement: DONE Reliable primary outcome measure: DONE Protection against contamination: DONE
Participants	Location: UK Patients with chronic obstructive airways disease Mean age: treatment = 69.7; control = 70.1 Treatment = 30 Control = 30
Interventions	Hospital at home (early discharge within 48 hours of admission) Type of service: daily monitoring by 2 respiratory outreach nurses who were accessible by phone daily from 9:00 to 17:00, out of hours advice from Medical Chest Unit: GPs aware but not involved in care Those living alone with no phone were excluded from the trial Control group: in-patient hospital care
Outcomes	Length of stay Days of care Symptom score Respiratory function Patient and carer satisfaction
Notes	Follow-up: 2 weeks for satisfaction, 3 months for readmission
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors’ judgement	Support for judgement
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	A - Adequate