López-Campos, Jose LuisAbad Arranz, MaríaCalero Acuña, CarmenRomero Valero, FernandoAyerbe García, RuthHidalgo Molina, AntonioAguilar Perez-Grovas, Ricardo IGarcía Gil, FranciscoCasas Maldonado, FranciscoCaballero Ballesteros, LauraSánchez Palop, MaríaPérez-Tejero, DoloresSegado, AlejandroCalvo Bonachera, JoseHernández Sierra, BárbaraDoménech, AdolfoArroyo Varela, MacarenaGonzález Vargas, FranciscoCruz Rueda, Juan J2016-10-212016-10-212016-06-02López-Campos JL, Abad Arranz M, Calero Acuña C, Romero Valero F, Ayerbe García R, Hidalgo Molina A, et al. Determinants for changing the treatment of COPD: a regression analysis from a clinical audit. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2016; 11:1171-81176-9106http://hdl.handle.net/10668/2480Journal Article;INTRODUCTION This study is an analysis of a pilot COPD clinical audit that evaluated adherence to guidelines for patients with COPD in a stable disease phase during a routine visit in specialized secondary care outpatient clinics in order to identify the variables associated with the decision to step-up or step-down pharmacological treatment. METHODS This study was a pilot clinical audit performed at hospital outpatient respiratory clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (eight provinces with over eight million inhabitants), in which 20% of centers in the area (catchment population 3,143,086 inhabitants) were invited to participate. Treatment changes were evaluated in terms of the number of prescribed medications and were classified as step-up, step-down, or no change. Three backward stepwise binominal multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate variables associated with stepping up, stepping down, and inhaled corticosteroids discontinuation. RESULTS The present analysis evaluated 565 clinical records (91%) of the complete audit. Of those records, 366 (64.8%) cases saw no change in pharmacological treatment, while 99 patients (17.5%) had an increase in the number of drugs, 55 (9.7%) had a decrease in the number of drugs, and 45 (8.0%) noted a change to other medication for a similar therapeutic scheme. Exacerbations were the main factor in stepping up treatment, as were the symptoms themselves. In contrast, rather than symptoms, doctors used forced expiratory volume in 1 second and previous treatment with long-term antibiotics or inhaled corticosteroids as the key determinants to stepping down treatment. CONCLUSION The majority of doctors did not change the prescription. When changes were made, a number of related factors were noted. Future trials must evaluate whether these therapeutic changes impact clinically relevant outcomes at follow-up.enQuality of careOutpatient careTreatment strategiesFollow-upRespiratory diseasesAirway diseasesAndalucíaAtención ambulatoriaAuditoría clínicaEstudios de seguimientoVolumen espiratorio forzadoServicio ambulatorio en hospitalEnfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónicaEspañaCorticoesteroidesAntibacterianosMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services::Health Services::Patient Care::Ambulatory CareMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation::Quality Assurance, Health Care::Clinical AuditMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Epidemiologic Study Characteristics as Topic::Epidemiologic Studies::Cohort Studies::Longitudinal Studies::Follow-Up StudiesMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Diagnosis::Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures::Diagnostic Techniques, Respiratory System::Respiratory Function Tests::Pulmonary Ventilation::Forced Expiratory VolumeMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services::Health Facilities::Ambulatory Care Facilities::Outpatient Clinics, HospitalMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Respiratory Tract Diseases::Lung Diseases::Lung Diseases, Obstructive::Pulmonary Disease, Chronic ObstructiveMedical Subject Headings::Geographicals::Geographic Locations::Europe::SpainMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists::Hormones::Adrenal Cortex HormonesMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Chemical Actions and Uses::Pharmacologic Actions::Therapeutic Uses::Anti-Infective Agents::Anti-Bacterial Agentsresearch article27330285open access10.2147/COPD.S1036141178-2005PMC4898035