LONDON and AMSTERDAM, Sept. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced preliminary results of an independent, multi-center Home Oxygen Therapy – Home Mechanical Ventilation (HOT-HMV) study carried out by respiratory experts at St Thomas' Hospital in London. Philips' pioneering work in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) started several decades ago when it began providing healthcare professionals and patients with innovative treatment solutions and services. Philips' participation in the HOT-HMV study builds on the company's global leadership in COPD management.

COPD is on the rise worldwide, estimated to become the third leading cause of death in the next fifteen years, more than breast cancer, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer combined1. Moreover, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that caring for patients with these chronic conditions, including COPD, accounts for 70 percent of the annual healthcare spending in the United States alone2.

The Philips-sponsored study researched the benefits of home non-invasive ventilation (NIV), referred to as HMV in the study, for patients with COPD. Initial results from this study, which will be presented today at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress, reveal that patients using HOT with HMV are half as likely to be readmitted to the hospital. The HOT-HMV study used a randomized controlled trial that compared the use of HMV and HOT therapies with HOT alone in 116 patients with persistent hypercapnia. Investigators included Dr. Nicholas Hart, Dr. Patrick Murphy and colleagues.

"Our goal with this study was to find a way to provide COPD patients with oxygen therapy, as well as home ventilators, in an effort to lower the number of patients being readmitted to hospitals," said Dr. Nicholas Hart, professor and clinical and academic director of Lane Fox Respiratory Unit, St Thomas' Hospital. "The results of the HOT-HMV study have the ability to change the way that COPD patients are treated worldwide. We're looking forward to continuing the trial over the next five years to monitor survival rates, which we hope will rise, and readmission rates, which will hopefully fall."

"Philips is proud to be a lead sponsor of this study," said Eli Diacopoulos, Business Leader, Home Respiratory Care, Philips. "Managing COPD is more than simply providing patients with respiratory devices, which is why Philips continues to innovate and advance NIV therapies in the hospital and home. It's about providing support across the entire continuum of care, and Philips is uniquely positioned to make this a reality."

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