Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains largely underdiagnosed in France, with over two-thirds of patients unidentified despite an estimated adult prevalence of 7.5%. Smoking constitutes the primary risk factor. Moreover, once diagnosed, uncontrolled patients face a high risk of exacerbations generating extra healthcare expenditures (€678 million hospitalizations annually). This study evaluates a dual digital strategy: identifying at-risk patients unaware of their status and supporting diagnosed patients to prevent exacerbation.
METHODS: The KWIT smoking cessation mobile application integrated two modules: a screening questionnaire validated by the French National Authority for Health (HAS) and a COPD monitoring module based on CERT questionnaire with alert system. At-risk users were directed to medical consultation. Diagnosed patients benefited from continuous monitoring with risk-stratified alert generation. Screening evaluation is based on 2 years, and the COPD module is a six-month evaluation conducted on a panel of 80 patients using the monitoring module.
RESULTS: For screening impact: in total, 343,909 users (43.1% male, 56.3% female) completed the HAS questionnaire. Among them, 83,344 (23,5%) presented risk requiring medical consultation. This strategy led to 4,129 completed consultations and 539 (162 male, 375 female) new COPD diagnoses, with 80% at an early stage (stages 1-2). In the monitoring panel (n=80), 987 alerts were generated over six months: 80% without immediate risk, 11.9% requiring general practitioner consultation, and 9.1% requiring emergency department visit. Remarkably, 100% of post-alert consultations resulted in modification of maintenance therapy.
CONCLUSIONS: This digital intervention demonstrates the effectiveness of an early screening and proactive COPD monitoring strategy integrated into a smoking cessation application. Identifying patients at early stage and anticipating exacerbations through a risk-stratified alert system represent a major innovation to reduce the medical and economic burden of COPD and improve patients' quality of life. This approach opens the door to new COPD screening and monitoring program.