Quality of care for patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
BACKGROUND
Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is 1 of the 10 leading causes of hospitalization among adults in the United States.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the quality of care provided to patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of COPD and to determine whether hospital or patient characteristics influence treatment.


METHODS
Retrospective cohort study.


METHODS
360 hospitals throughout the United States.


METHODS
69,820 patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of COPD.


METHODS
Adherence to diagnosis and treatment recommendations contained in guidelines produced by the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians; analyses of associations between hospital and patient characteristics and composite measures of performance.


RESULTS
Of the 69,820 patients, 66,276 (95%) underwent chest radiography, 63,715 (91%) received supplemental oxygen, 67 515 (97%) received bronchodilators, 59,240 (85%) received systemic steroids, and 59,053 (85%) were given antibiotics. In total, 45,800 (66%) received this entire set of recommended care processes. Numerous participants received tests or treatments that were not beneficial: 16,607 (24%) were treated with methylxanthine bronchodilators, 10,051 (14%) had sputum testing, 8354 (12%) underwent acute spirometry, 4299 (6%) had chest physiotherapy, and 1409 (2%) were treated with mucolytic medications. Overall, 31,519 patients (45%) received at least 1 of these nonrecommended care elements, and 22,929 (33%) received ideal care, defined as all of the recommended care processes and none of the nonrecommended ones. Individual hospital performance varied widely; whereas older patients and women were more likely to receive ideal care than their counterparts, a higher annual volume of admissions for COPD was not associated with improved hospital performance.


CONCLUSIONS
The study used administrative data, not chart review, and was limited to the inpatient management of COPD.


CONCLUSIONS
The quality of care for patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of COPD may be improved by increasing the use of systemic corticosteroid and antibiotic therapy, decreasing the use of unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments, and reducing variation in practice across hospitals.
Lindenauer
Peter K
PK
Division of Healthcare Quality, Baystate Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine, Springfield, Massachusetts 01199, USA. Peter.Lindenauer@bhs.org
Pekow
Penelope
P
Gao
Shan
S
Crawford
Allison S
AS
Gutierrez
Benjamin
B
Benjamin
Evan M
EM
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures