Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Program of Integrated Care for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Multiple Comorbidities: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Brief Summary: Many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) also have other diseases referred to as comorbidities. Often these patients require health care by a variety of health care professionals from services linked to hospitals and in the community. Unfortunately, sometimes it may be difficult for these patients to receive appropriate care in a timely manner resulting in a trip to the emergency department. As well, patients may benefit from education that enables them to recognize early signs indicating they are getting sicker and to self-manage their disease. Our study will examine a strategy that includes a case manager who will make weekly phone contact with COPD patients with comorbidity that present either to the emergency department or are admitted to hospital. Weekly contact will focus on teaching patients to recognize worsening symptoms and self-management strategies. The case manager will work with patients, caregivers, community health care providers and hospital specialists to promote communication and optimize care delivery. The investigators will examine the impact of our intervention on the need for emergency department visits and hospital admission. The investigators will also examine the impact on patients' health related quality of life, number of COPD exacerbations, and disease progression.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Clinical diagnosis of COPD stage III or IV according to GOLD guidelines
* \>45 years of age
* Compliant patient (is able to see, hear and follow instructions)
* Estimated admission time \> 2 days

Exclusion Criteria:

* X-score \> 4 at randomization(need of NIV or respirator)
* severe overweight assessed by investigator
* serious comorbidity (malignancy,unstable heart disease, dysregulated diabetes or other disease that makes participation impossible)
* non-compliant patient (cannot follow simple instructions)
* fever (\>38 degrees Celsius) at randomization point, in need of I.V. antibiotics assessed by investigator
* participation in another clinical trial within the last 30 days
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients who are admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital with AECOPD will be screened for this study.
* Patients with age over 40 years

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with asthma
* Patients unable to provide informed consent
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* Resides within 5-mile radius of emergency room
* English- or Spanish-speaker
* Can identify a potential caregiver who agrees to stay with patient for first 24 hours of admission. Caregiver must be competent to call care team if a problem is evident to her/him.
* This criterion may be waived for highly competent patients at the patient and clinician's discretion.
* \>=18 years old
* Primary diagnosis of cellulitis, heart failure, complicated urinary tract infection, or pneumonia that requires inpatient admission as determined by blinded emergency room team.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Undomiciled
* No working heat (October-April), no working air conditioning if forecast \> 80°F (June-September), or no running water
* On methadone requiring daily pickup of medication
* In police custody
* Resides in facility that provides on-site medical care (e.g., skilled nursing facility)
* Domestic violence screen positive
* Cared for by a private primary care physician who rounds in the hospital
* Cannot establish peripheral access in emergency department (or access requires ultrasound guidance)
* Secondary condition: active non-melanoma/prostate cancer, end-stage renal disease, acute myocardial infarction, acute cerebral vascular accident, acute hemorrhage
* Primary diagnosis requires narcotics for pain control
* Cannot independently ambulate to bedside commode
* As deemed by on-call medical doctor, patient likely to require any of the following procedures: computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, endoscopic procedure, blood transfusion, cardiac stress test, or surgery
* For pneumonia:
* Most recent CURB65 \> 3: new confusion, blood urea nitrogen \> 19mg/dL, respiratory rate\>=30/min, systolic blood pressure\<90mmHg, Age\>=65
* Most recent SMRTCO \> 2: systolic blood pressure \< 90mmHg (2pts), multilobar chest xray involvement (1pt), respiratory rate \>= 30/min, heart rate \>= 125, new confusion, oxygen saturation \<= 90%
* Absence of clear infiltrate on imaging
* Cavitary lesion on imaging
* O2 saturation \< 90% despite 5L O2
* For heart failure:
* Has a left ventricular assist device or paced rhythm
* Get with the Guidelines - Heart Failure (\>10% in-hospital mortality) or The Acute Decompensated Heart Failure National Registry score (high risk or intermediate risk 1)
* Anasarca
* Pulmonary hypertension
* For complicated urinary tract infection:
* Absence of pyuria
* Most recent quick sepsis related organ failure assessment \> 1
* Home hospital census is full (maximum 4 patients at any time)
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* COPD defined as chronic irreversible airflow limitation with FEV1 \< lower limit of normal for age as % predicted and a FEV1/FVC ratio \< than lower limit of normal (usually 70%) \[5\]

Plus ≥ 2 comorbidities commonly associated with COPD as identified in the Canadian Thoracic Society COPD guidelines\*

1. Cardiovascular disease
2. Osteopenia and osteoporosis
3. Glaucoma and cataracts
4. Cachexia and malnutrition
5. Peripheral muscle dysfunction
6. Lung cancer
7. Metabolic syndrome (diabetes mellitus)
8. Depression
9. Chronic kidney disease OR Other conditions as primary admitting/presenting diagnosis + COPD as significant comorbidity + ≥ 1 other comorbidity

THAT

1. Get admitted to participating hospital; or
2. Present to participating hospital ED; or
3. Have first referral to Respiratory Centre/Respirology team

AND HAVE

1. ≥ 1 ED presentation/hospital admission in previous 12 months
2. ≥ 50 years age

Exclusion Criteria:

1. No access to primary care physician
2. Primary diagnosis of asthma
3. Terminal diagnosis (metastatic disease with a life expectancy of ≤ 6 months)
4. Dementia and absence of family caregiver able to assist with activation of the action plan and feedback on ongoing status and care coordination
5. Uncontrolled psychiatric illness
6. Inability to understand, read, and write English
7. No access to a phone
8. Inability to attend follow up at one of the participating sites

Answer: D