[Clinical audit of patients admitted to hospital in Spain due to exacerbation of COPD (AUDIPOC study): method and organisation].
BACKGROUND
There is little information regarding the clinical management of hospital inpatients diagnosed with exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). AUDIPOC is a clinical audit dealing with the clinical management of COPD in Spain.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the adequacy and validity of the instruments used to measure the variables proposed by AUDIPOC Spain (Preliminary Study) and to verify the viability of AUDIPOC in a complex environment with hospitals of different sizes, resources, and organizational layout (Pilot Study).


METHODS
The Preliminary Study took place in 4 hospitals and studied 213 cases. The Pilot Study took place in 30 hospitals of 6 Autonomous Communities (i.e. Regions) and studied 1203 cases.


RESULTS
The results of both studies contributed to the improvement of the design, methods and organization of the AUDIPOC work. Some of the improvements include better training of those responsible at a hospital level, a new classification of hospitals, the incorporation of new variables and the creation of a Bureau for the Coordination and Management of the Project.


CONCLUSIONS
The AUDIPOC study is viable. It aims to recruit 10000 patients across 142 hospitals from all the Regions of Spain.
Pozo-Rodríguez
Francisco
F
Neumología, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, España; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), España. fpozo@h12o.es
Alvarez
Carlos José
CJ
Castro-Acosta
Ady
A
Melero Moreno
Carlos
C
Capelastegui
Alberto
A
Esteban
Cristobal
C
Hernández Carcereny
Carmen
C
López-Campos
José Luis
JL
Izquierdo Alonso
José Luís
JL
López Quílez
Antonio
A
Agustí
Alvar
A
D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012107:Research Design; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology