• Kristof Faes, Veerle De Frène, Joachim Cohen, and Lieven Annemans.
• Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: kristof.faes@ugent.be.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2016 Oct 1; 52 (4): 588-599.

ContextPatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in their final months of life potentially place a high burden on health care systems. Concrete knowledge about resources used and costs incurred by those patients at the end of life is crucial for policymakers.ObjectivesThe aim of this systematic review was to describe the resources used and costs incurred by patients with COPD at the end of life.MethodsWe performed a comprehensive literature search in MEDLINE, Web of Science, and EconLit. We screened 886 abstracts and subsequently reviewed 80 full-text articles. Inclusion criteria were at least one type of resource use and/or cost outcome reported in adults diagnosed with COPD during an end-of-life period. Subsequently, we performed quality appraisal consistent with the ISPOR checklist for retrospective database studies and accomplished comprehensive data extraction.ResultsTen articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Three, five, and two studies described European, North American, and Asian health care settings, respectively. All studies had a retrospective design and were published between 2006 and 2015. We observed a very variable resource use, an increased number of hospitalizations, intensive care unit stays, primary care consultations and medication prescriptions, as well as a lack of utilization of formal palliative care services in end-of-life COPD patients. Specific cost items were not well described.ConclusionThe high use of health care resources in COPD patients in the final months of life suggests a focus on prolonging life and a tendency toward aggressive care. Limiting potentially inappropriate care and improving the quality of end-of-life care in advanced COPD are, therefore, important public health challenges.Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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