Structured Cardiac Assessment and Treatment Following Exacerbations of COPD (SCATECOPD): A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Heart disease is common in COPD, yet it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Heart failure (HF) is undiagnosed in up to 20% of hospital inpatients. Hospitalised exacerbations of COPD (ECOPD) confer high mortality and readmission rates, with an elevated tempor...

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Main Authors: Joseph Kibbler, Eduwin Pakpahan, Stephen McCarthy, Rebecca Webb-Mitchell, Arun Prasad, David P. Ripley, Joanne Gray, Stephen C. Bourke, John Steer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Biomedicines
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/3/658
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author Joseph Kibbler
Eduwin Pakpahan
Stephen McCarthy
Rebecca Webb-Mitchell
Arun Prasad
David P. Ripley
Joanne Gray
Stephen C. Bourke
John Steer
author_facet Joseph Kibbler
Eduwin Pakpahan
Stephen McCarthy
Rebecca Webb-Mitchell
Arun Prasad
David P. Ripley
Joanne Gray
Stephen C. Bourke
John Steer
author_sort Joseph Kibbler
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background/Objectives</b>: Heart disease is common in COPD, yet it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Heart failure (HF) is undiagnosed in up to 20% of hospital inpatients. Hospitalised exacerbations of COPD (ECOPD) confer high mortality and readmission rates, with an elevated temporal cardiac risk. We performed a pilot randomised controlled trial examining the feasibility and effect of inpatient structured cardiac assessment (SCA) to diagnose and prompt guideline-recommended treatment of heart disease. <b>Methods</b>: A total of 115 inpatients with ECOPD were randomised 1:1 to receive usual care (UC) or SCA, comprising transthoracic echocardiography, CT coronary artery calcium scoring, 24 h ECG, blood pressure, and diabetes assessment. Follow-up was for 12 months. The prevalence of underdiagnosis and undertreatment of heart disease were captured, and potential outcome measures for future trials assessed. <b>Results</b>: Among patients undergoing SCA, 42/57 (73.7%) received a new cardiac diagnosis and 32/57 (56.1%) received new cardiac treatment, compared with 11/58 (19.0%; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and 5/58 (8.6%; <i>p</i> < 0.001) in the UC group. More patients in the SCA group were newly diagnosed with HF (36.8% vs. 12.1%; <i>p</i> = 0.002). When heart disease was diagnosed, the proportion receiving optimal treatment at discharge was substantially higher in SCA (35/47 (74%) vs. 4/11 (34%); <i>p</i> = 0.029). The occurrence of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) showed promise as an appropriate clinical outcome for a future definitive trial. MACEs occurred in 17.2% in usual care vs. 10.5% in SCA in one year, with a continued separation of survival curves during follow up, although statistical significance was not shown. <b>Conclusions</b>: A structured cardiac assessment during ECOPD substantially improved diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. HF and coronary artery disease were the most common new diagnoses. Future interventional trials in this population should consider MACEs as the primary outcome.
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spelling doaj-art-b4f4cf55283c48baab879d53201cdca32025-08-20T02:11:15ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592025-03-0113365810.3390/biomedicines13030658Structured Cardiac Assessment and Treatment Following Exacerbations of COPD (SCATECOPD): A Pilot Randomised Controlled TrialJoseph Kibbler0Eduwin Pakpahan1Stephen McCarthy2Rebecca Webb-Mitchell3Arun Prasad4David P. Ripley5Joanne Gray6Stephen C. Bourke7John Steer8Department of Respiratory Medicine, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Shields NE29 8NH, UKApplied Statistics Research Group, Department of Mathematics, Physics & Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UKFaculty of Health & Life Science, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UKDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Shields NE29 8NH, UKDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Shields NE29 8NH, UKDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Shields NE29 8NH, UKFaculty of Health & Life Science, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UKDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Shields NE29 8NH, UKDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Shields NE29 8NH, UK<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Heart disease is common in COPD, yet it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Heart failure (HF) is undiagnosed in up to 20% of hospital inpatients. Hospitalised exacerbations of COPD (ECOPD) confer high mortality and readmission rates, with an elevated temporal cardiac risk. We performed a pilot randomised controlled trial examining the feasibility and effect of inpatient structured cardiac assessment (SCA) to diagnose and prompt guideline-recommended treatment of heart disease. <b>Methods</b>: A total of 115 inpatients with ECOPD were randomised 1:1 to receive usual care (UC) or SCA, comprising transthoracic echocardiography, CT coronary artery calcium scoring, 24 h ECG, blood pressure, and diabetes assessment. Follow-up was for 12 months. The prevalence of underdiagnosis and undertreatment of heart disease were captured, and potential outcome measures for future trials assessed. <b>Results</b>: Among patients undergoing SCA, 42/57 (73.7%) received a new cardiac diagnosis and 32/57 (56.1%) received new cardiac treatment, compared with 11/58 (19.0%; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and 5/58 (8.6%; <i>p</i> < 0.001) in the UC group. More patients in the SCA group were newly diagnosed with HF (36.8% vs. 12.1%; <i>p</i> = 0.002). When heart disease was diagnosed, the proportion receiving optimal treatment at discharge was substantially higher in SCA (35/47 (74%) vs. 4/11 (34%); <i>p</i> = 0.029). The occurrence of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) showed promise as an appropriate clinical outcome for a future definitive trial. MACEs occurred in 17.2% in usual care vs. 10.5% in SCA in one year, with a continued separation of survival curves during follow up, although statistical significance was not shown. <b>Conclusions</b>: A structured cardiac assessment during ECOPD substantially improved diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. HF and coronary artery disease were the most common new diagnoses. Future interventional trials in this population should consider MACEs as the primary outcome.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/3/658COPDcomorbiditymultimorbidityheart failurecoronary artery disease
spellingShingle Joseph Kibbler
Eduwin Pakpahan
Stephen McCarthy
Rebecca Webb-Mitchell
Arun Prasad
David P. Ripley
Joanne Gray
Stephen C. Bourke
John Steer
Structured Cardiac Assessment and Treatment Following Exacerbations of COPD (SCATECOPD): A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
Biomedicines
COPD
comorbidity
multimorbidity
heart failure
coronary artery disease
title Structured Cardiac Assessment and Treatment Following Exacerbations of COPD (SCATECOPD): A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
title_full Structured Cardiac Assessment and Treatment Following Exacerbations of COPD (SCATECOPD): A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
title_fullStr Structured Cardiac Assessment and Treatment Following Exacerbations of COPD (SCATECOPD): A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
title_full_unstemmed Structured Cardiac Assessment and Treatment Following Exacerbations of COPD (SCATECOPD): A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
title_short Structured Cardiac Assessment and Treatment Following Exacerbations of COPD (SCATECOPD): A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
title_sort structured cardiac assessment and treatment following exacerbations of copd scatecopd a pilot randomised controlled trial
topic COPD
comorbidity
multimorbidity
heart failure
coronary artery disease
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/3/658
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