METHODS English prescriptions for sputum clearance treatments English prescribing data on prescription of carbocisteine, together with that for OPEP devices for the years 2013-15 were obtained from OpenPrescribing.net. Prescriptions for paediatric preparations of carbocisteine were excluded. We assumed each drug item represented one month of treatment, multiplying item numbers by 12 to calculate treatment/years received. Clinical attitudes to use of sputum adjunct devices. An online survey (using SurveyMonkey.com) was sent by email to members of the ACPRC. This included questions about awareness of sputum adjunct devices and likelihood of using them in COPD patients with varying patterns of daily sputum production/tenacity and exacerbation frequency (Online supplement). Options were presented in random order to avoid bias. RESULTS Prescribing data There were 1.07 million COPD patients on GP registers in England in 2015 (via and the period 2013-15 covers a total of 3.2 million COPD patient years. Over this period an estimated 422,744 patient years of treatment with carbocisteine were prescribed (Table 1) and 1.1 million years treatment with tiotropium. By contrast, only 4,989 sputum adjunct devices were prescribed over the three years (all but 7 were Flutter® and Acapella®). The costs for these were £73 million, £483 million and £187,000 respectively.
METHODS English prescriptions for sputum clearance treatments English prescribing data on prescription of carbocisteine, together with that for OPEP devices for the years 2013-15 were obtained from OpenPrescribing.net. Prescriptions for paediatric preparations of carbocisteine were excluded. We assumed each drug item represented one month of treatment, multiplying item numbers by 12 to calculate treatment/years received. Clinical attitudes to use of sputum adjunct devices. An online survey (using SurveyMonkey.com) was sent by email to members of the ACPRC. This included questions about awareness of sputum adjunct devices and likelihood of using them in COPD patients with varying patterns of daily sputum production/tenacity and exacerbation frequency (Online supplement). Options were presented in random order to avoid bias. RESULTS Prescribing data There were 1.07 million COPD patients on GP registers in England in 2015 (via and the period 2013-15 covers a total of 3.2 million COPD patient years. Over this period an estimated 422,744 patient years of treatment with carbocisteine were prescribed (Table 1) and 1.1 million years treatment with tiotropium. By contrast, only 4,989 sputum adjunct devices were prescribed over the three years (all but 7 were Flutter® and Acapella®). The costs for these were £73 million, £483 million and £187,000 respectively.
Acapella%20%20BMJ%20open%20resp%20V2%20clean.docx