This summer, the COPD Foundation launched its COPD and Pneumonia Study (CAP), a research initiative designed to describe the burden of pneumonia on individuals living with COPD, which affects 30 million Americans. An acute lung infection, such as pneumonia, is potentially fatal for those living with COPD.
The CAP study aims to provide the scientific community with evidence of pneumonia’s impact from the perspective of affected patients.
The CAP study is a multi-stakeholder project comprised of a series of online surveys. It will expand upon past studies measuring the impact of pneumonia on the general population, but have not specifically observed high risk populations such as those living with COPD. It will address these limitations by utilizing a patient-reported outcomes instrument called CAP-Burden of Illness Questionnaire (CAP-BIQ) as the baseline and for the longitudinal components.
“COPD is a leading cause of death and disability in the US, causing 1.5 million emergency room visits annually. Another 3.5 million hospital stays include COPD as a secondary or complicating condition, illustrating the significant comorbid conditions associated with the disease,” said Craig Kephart, chief executive officer of the COPD Foundation. “The incidence rate of pneumonia is 6 to 8 times higher in chronic lung patients — we believe the CAP study will provide us guidance on how to prevent the rise of pneumonia in our community.”
The COPD Foundation will leverage its technology infrastructure provided by the COPD Patient-Powered Research Network (COPD PPRN) to support the study. COPD patients enrolled in the COPD PPRN, who have been diagnosed with pneumonia within a four-month timeframe, will be eligible to participate.
More information on the study is available at the COPDF website.
