TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of a comprehensive self-management programme in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 815 LP - 820 DO - 10.1183/09031936.03.00047003 VL - 22 IS - 5 AU - E. Monninkhof AU - P. van der Valk AU - J. van der Palen AU - C. van Herwaarden AU - G. Zielhuis Y1 - 2003/11/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/22/5/815.abstract N2 - The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a comprehensive self-management intervention on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), symptoms and walking distance in patients with stable moderately severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study was part of the overall COPD study of the Dept of Pulmonary Medicine,Enschede, which consisted of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) trial and a self-management trial. After the ICS trial, all patients were randomised again to a self-management and a control group. The self-management intervention consisted of askill-oriented patient education programme and a near-home fitness programme, on top of usual care. The control group received usual care by the treating chest physician. HRQoL was measured by the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and walking distance by the 6‐min walking test. Patients recorded their symptoms in diaries and graded their health status from 1–10 in a weekly report. Altogether, 248 COPD patients were randomly allocated to either an intervention (127) or control (121) group. No differences in the SGRQ scores within and between both groups were observed over 1 yr. Similarly, no differences in symptom scores and 6‐min walking distance were found within and between groups. The intervention group reported more exacerbations than the control group. The majority (69%) of the exacerbations in the intervention group were self-treated at home. This study failed to show positive effects of a self-management programme among moderately severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. This study was sponsored by the Netherlands Asthma Foundation, Boehringer Ingelheim, Amicon Health Care Insurance Company, and GlaxoSmithKline Ltd. ER -