Phenotypes of COPD patients with home mechanical ventilation – are they valid in the Portuguese population?

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a progressive and heterogeneous disease sometimes treated with home mechanical ventilation (HMV). Janssens et al. (DOI: 10.1159/000525865), identified two COPD phenotypes in HMV patients: <italic>systemic phenotype</italic> (SP) and <italic>respiratory</italic> <italic>phenotype</italic> (RP) based on an equation including BMI, lung function, diabetes, and sex. They verified that the probability of pursuing HMV and 5-year survival were significantly higher in SP patients. <bold>Aims:</bold> To assess the applicability of the proposed phenotyping equation in a Portuguese COPD patient sample. <bold>Methods:</bold> A multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out, analyzing COPD patients under HMV in Portugal. The phenotype was defined using the equation proposed by Janssens et al. Results from 546 patients of 4 different centers evidenced a predominance of SP: 328 (60.1%) (Table 1). Mean survival was found to be higher in SP than in RP (51.6±0.9 <italic>vs</italic> 46.2±1.3 months, p<0.001) and probability of death at 5 years was 24.4% (95% CI:19.8-29.0) for SP <italic>vs</italic> 41.3% (95% CI:34.7-47.8) for RP (p<0.001). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Identification of <italic>respiratory</italic> and <italic>systemic</italic> phenotypes in COPD patients under HMV can predict survival, with worse prognosis in RP. Our results are similar to the original Swiss population in terms of mortality, supporting the applicability of the phenotyping equation in this sample of patients under HMV in Portugal. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA5285/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>