Lead Sponsor

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Age

40 - 80 years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

•Emergency hospital admission with a primary diagnosis of AECOPD
•Aged 40-80 years
•≥10 pack year smoking history
•Body mass index ≤ 35kg/m2
•Cognitively and linguistically able to follow English instructions, provide informed consent and complete the study protocol
•To be discharged home following the hospitalisation in a home environment deemed safe by the investigator to perform home assessments
•Patient lives in the catchment area served by the Integrated Respiratory Team at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

•Chest radiograph excludes pneumothorax
•Requirement for acute non-invasive ventilation (NIV) during index hospitalisation or established on home positive airway pressure (PAP)
•Significant chronic respiratory failure (PaCO2 \>7.0)
•Clinically significant obstructive sleep apnoea requiring treatment
•Allergies to latex, metals or local anaesthetic
•Broken or inflamed skin at the second intercostal space parasternal chest wall areas
•Psychological or social factors that would impair compliance with the study protocol
•Any major non-COPD chronic co-morbidity that may contribute significantly to risk of readmission, including (but not limited to) severe heart failure (left ventricular ejection fraction \<30%), malignancy (active treatment or palliation), end stage renal failure and significant neuromuscular disease
•Planned travel away from home in the 30-day post-discharge period