We analyzed four years of administrative claims data for Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries to provide insights on systemic oral corticosteroid (OCS) use patterns, associated health conditions, and acute events among patients newly diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This progressive inflammatory disease of the lungs is characterized by acute exacerbations that may lead to increased mortality. Short courses of systemic corticosteroids (SCS) are recommended to reduce recovery time from exacerbations, although SCS use has been associated with increased risk of adverse events. After an introduction, this paper is organized as follows:
- Materials and methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion