How well do we care for patients with end stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? A comparison of palliative care and quality of life in COPD and lung cancer

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Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a poor quality of life and limited life expectancy. This study examined whether these patients were relatively disadvantaged in terms of medical and social care compared with a group with inoperable lung cancer. METHODS An open two group comparison was made of 50 patients with severe COPD (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) RESULTS The patients with COPD had significantly worse activities of daily living and physical, social, and emotional functioning than the patients with NSCLC (pCONCLUSION This study suggests that patients with end stage COPD have significantly impaired quality of life and emotional well being which may not be as well met as those of patients with lung cancer, nor do they receive holistic care appropriate to their needs.