Danish Register of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The Danish Register of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (DrCOPD) is a nationwide database aiming to describe the quality of treatment of all patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Denmark.


METHODS
DrCOPD comprises data on all patients with a diagnosis of COPD. In the hospital setting, both in- and outpatients are included. In the setting of the general practice (GP), DrCOPD aims to include all patients with a COPD diagnosis who attend an annual control visit for COPD.


METHODS
DrCOPD includes information on forced expiratory volume in 1 second, smoking status, body mass index, dyspnea, treatment modalities such as rehabilitation, smoking cessation, medical treatment, and the use of noninvasive ventilation during hospitalization due to exacerbations. The outcome variables include frequency of readmission and death 30 days after discharge from hospital.
Since 2008, the registration in the Danish hospitals has gradually become more comprehensive. In 2014, ~90% of 16,106 eligible patients had complete data sets that showed an improvement in the processes describing quality of care, including increased offering of smoking cessation, rehabilitation, and correct treatment with inhaled medication. Data from GPs have been included since 2011, but are still incomplete and comprise only ~20% of all COPD patients seen. The collection of data from GP settings has recently been hampered due to legislative controversies.


CONCLUSIONS
In relatively few years, DrCOPD has become increasingly comprehensive and has documented an improvement in the management of COPD in Danish hospitals.
Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen; Lung Diseases Department, Respiratory Medicine Section, Lung Diseases Department, Hvidovre Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen.
Peter
P
Lange
Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen.
Sandra Søgaard
SS
Tøttenborg
Medical Department, Odense Universitetshospital-Svendborg Hospital, Svendborg.
Anne Dichmann
AD
Sorknæs
Danish College of General Practitioners, Copenhagen.
Jørgen Steen
JS
Andersen
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital.
Mette
M
Søgaard
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital.
Henrik
H
Nielsen
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital.
Reimar Wernich
RW
Thomsen
Registry Support Centre of Clinical Quality and Health Informatics (West), Århus, Denmark.
Katrine Abildtrup
KA
Nielsen
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; exacerbations; quality of care; register