People suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) the third leading cause of death in the United States may see their lives change thanks to a ResMed-sponsored clinical trial presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

The trial, Home Oxygen Therapy Home Mechanical Ventilation (HOT-HMV), was designed to investigate the effect of using non-invasive ventilation (NIV) at home on time to hospital readmission or death. Patients in the study had persistent hypercapnia (high levels of carbon dioxide in their blood) and had recently been hospitalized for a worsening of their COPD.

Patients in the study who received NIV at home in addition to oxygen therapy had a 51 percent decreased risk of re-hospitalisation or death, and stayed out of the hospital more than three times longer, compared to those who received oxygen alone.

"This trial adds decisively to the growing body of evidence supporting the broader use of non-invasive ventilation for patients with COPD," said ResMed chief medical officer Carlos Nunez, M.D. "Just knowing NIV can help cut re-hospitalisation or death risk in half is a game changer."

The Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease, an international collaboration of experts on COPD, recently updated their guidelines to include a level B recommendation for home NIV for hypercapnic COPD patients after an exacerbation.

The number of people with COPD globally is estimated to be 384 million1. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated COPD cost the United States $36 billion annually in medical costs and absenteeism, and projected medical costs alone related to COPD could rise to $49 billion by 2020.

One reason is that nearly one in four COPD patients in the US who leave the hospital after an acute exacerbation will be re-hospitalized within 30 days, driving increased costs to the healthcare system and significantly impacting the patients' quality of life.

To curb the financial impact of this re-hospitalisation, the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services now penalizes hospitals with high readmission rates after an acute exacerbation of COPD.


COPD is a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It is a progressive, fatal condition that causes irreversible damage to the lungs and airways. It can have a major impact on an individual’s quality of life. It is the third leading cause of death in the US and is the only major disease that is increasing in prevalence globally, across all continents.

During the course of their disease, COPD patients can experience acute exacerbations, which manifest themselves as a sudden worsening of symptoms and can lead to respiratory failure, hospitalisation and death. Although the damage caused by COPD cannot be reversed, it is possible to slow the progression of the disease through treatment and lifestyle changes.