Abstract

Background: COPD reduces health-related quality of life (HRQoL) through persistent breathlessness and activity limitation, with exacerbations causing further impairment.
Aims: To assess long-term HRQoL and utility impairment following moderate and severe exacerbations in patients with COPD with raised blood eosinophil count (BEC) and frequent exacerbations despite optimised inhaled therapy.
Methods: Individual patient data from 4 clinical trials and 1 observational study in COPD were pooled (Table); inclusion criteria were harmonised (BEC ≥300 cells/μL, ≥2 moderate or ≥1 severe exacerbation in the prior year on dual or triple inhaled therapy). Study periods (ranging from 52 weeks to 3 years) were split into 3-month intervals, each patient interval assigned a health state based on time since last moderate, severe, or frequent severe exacerbation (Table). HRQoL impairment versus no-exacerbation was estimated by St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) scores, and utility impairment using EuroQoL 5-Dimension 3-Level (EQ-5D-3L) and EQ-5D derived from SGRQ.
Results: SGRQ worsened after moderate exacerbations, with greater and sustained impairment following severe events; the largest and most persistent increases occurred after frequent severe exacerbations. Similar patterns were observed for EQ-5D utilities (Table).
Conclusions: Patients with COPD with raised BEC experience prolonged HRQoL reduction following exacerbations, with greater impact from severe exacerbations.
Funding: GSK (218965).
Previously presented at ERS2026.