An international randomized study of a home-based self-management program for severe COPD: the COMET

Most hospitalizations and costs related to COPD are due to exacerbations and insufficient disease management. The COPD patient Management European Trial (COMET) is investigating a home-based multicomponent COPD self-management program designed to reduce exacerbations and hospital admissions.

Multicenter parallel randomized controlled, open-label superiority trial.

Thirty-three hospitals in four European countries.

A total of 345 patients with Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease III/IV COPD.

The program includes extensive patient coaching by health care professionals to improve self-management (eg, develop skills to better manage their disease), an e-health platform for reporting frequent health status updates, rapid intervention when necessary, and oxygen therapy monitoring. Comparator is the usual management as per the center's routine practice.

Yearly number of hospital days for acute care, exacerbation number, quality of life, deaths, and costs.