Burden of disease among exacerbating patients with eosinophil COPD treated with triple therapy in Spain

Objectives: To describe the burden of eosinophilic COPD (blood eosinophil ≥150 cell/µL) and associated costs from the Spanish societal perspective. Methods: Observational, longitudinal, retrospective, multicenter study in Pulmonology Services among patients (≥40 years) with COPD diagnosis confirmed (post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC Results: 157 patients were included (77.7% men), with a mean age of 69.3 years. Mean COPD exacerbation rate was 2.5/patient and 81 patients required at least one hospitalization with a mean hospital stay of 9.5 days. Antibiotics (84.7%) was the preferred treatment in case of exacerbation, followed by systemic glucocorticoids (75.2%). On average, primary and secondary care visits/patient/year were 4.1 and 2.5, respectively. 9 of 31 patients who were still employed were on sick leave (mean:3.2 days). Total annual mean costs/patient accounted for 5,144€, 4,751€ owing to direct costs and 394€ due to productivity loss. Moreover, the mean cost per exacerbation was 2,277€/patient. Conclusions: The economic impact of COPD patients with exacerbations and elevated eosinophil levels in Spain amounts to 5,144€/patient/year.