scholarly journals Rates and Patterns of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 559-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Nunes de Melo ◽  
Pierre Ernst ◽  
Samy Suissa
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Administrative Databases ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Acute Exacerbations

BACKGROUND:Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are believed to be a common occurrence in patients with COPD and are known to be associated with considerable morbidity.OBJECTIVE:To describe the frequency of treated COPD exacerbations in a large population-based cohort.SUBJECTS AND METHODS:A cohort of newly treated patients with COPD was formed from the administrative databases of Saskatchewan Health. The outcome was the occurrence of all moderate or severe exacerbations from 1990 to 1999. Exacerbations were defined in three ways: dispensing of a prescription for a systemic antibiotic; dispensing of both a prescription for an antibiotic and a prescription for an oral corticosteroid on the same day; and requiring a hospitalization with a primary discharge diagnosis of COPD.RESULTS:There were 5645 patients who entered the COPD cohort between 1990 and 1997, of whom 4453 experienced at least one exacerbation requiring treatment during follow-up. The overall rate of acute exacerbations was 1.12/person-year. It was constant across all age groups, and was similar in both men and women (1.13/person-year versus 1.11/person-year, respectively). The rate of exacerbations was highest in the first trimester of therapy for the disease (1.39/person-year) and stabilized thereafter at 1.04 exacerbations/person-year.CONCLUSIONS:The results indicate that in a population-based cohort of patients with COPD, the average rate of exacerbations was 1.12/person-year. Men and women had similar rates of exacerbations.

scholarly journals Presentations to emergency departments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Alberta: a population-based study

CJEM ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (06) ◽  
pp. 500-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda J. Rosychuk ◽  
Donald C. Voaklander ◽  
Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan ◽  
Terry P. Klassen ◽  
Thomas J. Marrie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Administrative Databases ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Population Based Study ◽  
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Ed Visits

ABSTRACTObjective:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a widespread illness with an increasing prevalence in older adults; exacerbations resulting in visits to the emergency department (ED) are common. We sought to determine the epidemiology of COPD presentations to EDs by older adults in Alberta.Methods:Administrative databases were used to examine all ED encounters for COPD from April 1999 to March 2005 in Alberta. Data included demographics of patients and timing of ED visits. Data analysis included descriptive summaries and age–sex directly standardized visit rates (DSVRs).Results:There were 85 330 ED visits for acute COPD made by 38 638 patients 55 years of age or older during the study period. More men (53.2%) presented, and the mean age at presentation was 72 years. The age–sex DSVRs remained stable from 2000/01 (24.4/1000) to 2004/05 (25.6/1000). Presentation rates differed among population subgroups. Overall, 67% of visits resulted in discharge from the ED.Conclusion:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a common presentation in Alberta EDs; however, the rates of presentation were stable during the study period, and monthly and hourly trends exhibited similar patterns for each year. Disparities based on age, sex, and socio-economic and cultural statuses were identified. Targeted interventions could be implemented to reduce future ED visits for COPD.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document