Reducing COPD Rehospitalizations

Strategies to Prevent Readmissions to Hospital for COPD: A Systematic Review

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience high rates of hospital readmissions, placing substantial clinical and economic strain on the healthcare system. Therefore, it is essential to implement evidence-based strategies for preventing these readmissions. The primary objective of our systematic review was to identify and describe the domains of existing primary research on strategies aimed at reducing hospital readmissions among adult patients with COPD. We also aimed to identify existing gaps in the literature to facilitate future research efforts. A total of 843 studies were captured by the initial search and 96 were included in the final review (25 randomized controlled trials, 37 observational studies, and 34 non-randomized interventional studies). Of the included studies, 72% (n = 69) were considered low risk of bias. The majority of included studies (n = 76) evaluated patient-level readmission prevention strategies (medication and other treatments (n = 25), multi-modal (n = 19), follow-up (n = 16), telehealth (n = 8), education and coaching (n = 8)). Fewer assessed broader system- (n = 13) and policy-level (n = 7) strategies. We observed a trend toward reduced all-cause readmissions with the use of medication and other treatments, as well as a trend toward reduced COPD-related readmissions with the use of multi-modal and broader scale system-level interventions. Notably, much of this evidence supported shorter-term (30-day) readmission outcomes, while little evidence was available for longer-term outcomes. These findings should be interpreted with caution, as considerable between-study heterogeneity was also identified. Overall, this review identified several evidence-based interventions for reducing readmissions among patients with COPD that should be targeted for future research.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15412555.2021.1955338 .

Current status and preventive strategies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China: a literature review

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease that seriously threatens human health and wellbeing, thereby representing an important public health problem. At present, it is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, and is estimated to become the third greatest cause of death by 2030. In China, the prevalence of COPD is increasing, secondary to an increase in smoking, air pollution and an aging population, resulting in a current the mortality of COPD in China which is higher than the global average. Moreover, the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rate of COPD in China is still relatively high, with an associated heavy economic burden to patients, their families and society. Unfortunately, current measures for treatment and prevention of COPD in China are not optimal. This primarily results from limited public awareness of COPD and pulmonary function tests amongst residents of China, and the generally poor disease-specific knowledge of primary care doctors. In recent years, a series of preventative strategies have been introduced in China across at the level of national policy, societies and associations, and scientific research. This review focuses upon both the epidemiology of COPD and the current status of preventative and treatment strategies in China.