Disease-specific knowledge in Greek patients with COPD before entering pulmonary rehabilitation

Abstract

Rationale: Disease-specific knowledge is often assessed in COPD patients in order to identify gaps, to encourage education and self-management. Aim: to determine the level of disease-specific knowledge among Greek patients with COPD before entering pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) Method: 50 (34 men) COPD patients (FEV1 49±3% pred; GOLD stages I-IV; age: 67±1 years; 6MWD 383±18 m) recruited before entering in a 3-month PR program. Pulmonary and functional data were collected at baseline. Disease-specific knowledge was assessed using the 65-item Bristol COPD Knowledge Questionnaire (BCKQ). It contains 13 topics with overall score ranging from 0 to 65. Results: The mean BCKQ overall score was 30±6 (min 18, max 44). There were no differences in overall scores among GOLD stages (GOLD I: 34±3; II: 29±2; III: 32±1; IV: 27±2). Knowledge in topics “Phlegm”, “Exercise”, “Etiology” and “Symptoms” had the highest mean scores (3.36; 3.26; 3.24 and 3.16, respectively), while topics in inhaled medication (steroids, bronchodilators: 0.56 and 1.18, respectively) and oral steroids (1.30) gave the lowest mean scores. Patients (n=15) who had at least one hospitalization in the last year scored lower in medication and exercise (mean: 0.31 and 2.77) topics compared to those patients with no hospitalization (mean: 0.76 and 3.40; p Conclusion: Greek COPD patients demonstrated impairments in the disease-specific knowledge, more evident in topics regarding medication and exercise. Specific to chest infection knowledge was higher in more breathlessness patients.