Danish Register of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

AIM OF DATABASE: The Danish Register of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (DrCOPD) is a nationwide database aiming to describe the quality of treatment of all patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Denmark.

STUDY POPULATION: DrCOPD comprises data on all patients with a diagnosis of COPD. In the hospital setting, both in- and outpatients are included. In the setting of the general practice (GP), DrCOPD aims to include all patients with a COPD diagnosis who attend an annual control visit for COPD.

MAIN VARIABLES: DrCOPD includes information on forced expiratory volume in 1 second, smoking status, body mass index, dyspnea, treatment modalities such as rehabilitation, smoking cessation, medical treatment, and the use of noninvasive ventilation during hospitalization due to exacerbations. The outcome variables include frequency of readmission and death 30 days after discharge from hospital.

DESCRIPTIVE DATA: Since 2008, the registration in the Danish hospitals has gradually become more comprehensive. In 2014, ~90% of 16,106 eligible patients had complete data sets that showed an improvement in the processes describing quality of care, including increased offering of smoking cessation, rehabilitation, and correct treatment with inhaled medication. Data from GPs have been included since 2011, but are still incomplete and comprise only ~20% of all COPD patients seen. The collection of data from GP settings has recently been hampered due to legislative controversies.

CONCLUSION: In relatively few years, DrCOPD has become increasingly comprehensive and has documented an improvement in the management of COPD in Danish hospitals.