Baseline patient characteristics
| Intervention group (n=89) | Control group (n=76) | |
| Number of physicians | 15 (51.7%) | 14 (48.3%) |
| Median (range) of patients per physician | 5 (1–12) | 3 (1–17) |
| Gender (male) | 44 (49.4%) | 44 (57.9%) |
| Age (years), mean (SD)* | 65.7 (9.2) | 69.5 (9.0) |
| BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 25.2 (6.2) | 26.8 (5.9) |
| Marital status (married/living with partner) | 57 (64.0%) | 52 (68.4%) |
| Educational level (high school or more) | 65 (73.0%) | 58 (76.3%) |
| Current smokers | 15 (16.9%) | 11 (14.5%) |
| FEV1 (% predicted), mean (SD) | 43.5 (16.9)† | 43.1 (14.5)‡ |
| Charlson index (points), mean (SD) | 2.24 (1.23) | 2.49 (1.57) |
| Long-term oxygen therapy | 36 (40.4%) | 31 (40.8%) |
| Home-based non-invasive positive pressure ventilation | 10 (11.2%) | 6 (7.9%) |
| Religious affiliation§ | 53 (59.6%) | 50 (65.8%) |
| Previous ACP* | 13 (14.6%) | 27 (35.5%) |
| COPD Assessment Test (points), mean (SD) | 23.1 (6.6)¶ | 22.9 (6.7) |
| Care Dependency Scale (points), mean (SD) | 65.0 (8.5)¶ | 64.5 (10.2)** |
| HADS-A score (points), mean (SD) | 6.9 (4.7)¶ | 6.1 (4.6) |
| HADS-D score (points), mean (SD) | 6.7 (4.2)¶ | 6.7 (4.1) |
| SF-36 physical component score (points), mean (SD) | 19.7 (9.6) | 20.3 (9.8) |
| SF-36 mental component score (points), mean (SD) | 40.8 (15.1) | 40.8 (15.0) |
| Prefers CPR at baseline | 48 (53.9%) | 35 (46.1%) |
| Prefers MV at baseline | 29 (32.6%) | 18 (23.7%) |