Johnston, Kylie;
Young, Mary;
Grimmer, Karen;
Antic, Ral;
Frith, Peter
Frequency of referral to and attendance at a pulmonary rehabilitation programme amongst patients admitted to a tertiary hospital with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
You can manage bookmarks using lists, please log in to your user account for this.
Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Frequency of referral to and attendance at a pulmonary rehabilitation programme amongst patients admitted to a tertiary hospital with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background and objective</jats:title><jats:p>Pulmonary rehabilitation (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">PR</jats:styled-content>) is recommended in the management of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">COPD</jats:styled-content>), but implementation appears to be low. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of referral to, and attendance at, <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">PR</jats:styled-content> programmes in a sample of patients with <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">COPD</jats:styled-content>.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>A cross‐sectional study of patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">S</jats:styled-content>outh <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">A</jats:styled-content>ustralia, with a primary diagnosis of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">COPD</jats:styled-content> between <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">M</jats:styled-content>arch and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">N</jats:styled-content>ovember 2011 was conducted. Data were collected from medical records and patient interview.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>From 235 admissions with preliminary coding as <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">COPD</jats:styled-content>, 88 patients had <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">COPD</jats:styled-content> as the primary reason for admission and were potentially eligible for rehabilitation. While 57% had been referred to rehabilitation during their disease course, only 18% had attended and completed at least half the programme. Seven patients had attended in the previous 2 years. Mean percentage predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s was 42% at the time of referral. During the index admission, discussion of rehabilitation resulting in a referral occurred in 14 cases (16%). No demographic or disease characteristics were associated with referral/no referral; being reviewed by a <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">COPD</jats:styled-content> nurse coordinator during admission increased the likelihood of referral (odds ratio = 18.7, 95% confidence interval: 3.8–91.4).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p><jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">PR</jats:styled-content> had been implemented in a small proportion of patients admitted to hospital with an exacerbation of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">COPD</jats:styled-content> due to gaps in both referral to and subsequent attendance at a programme. Strategies to improve referral to and participation in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">PR</jats:styled-content> are required.</jats:p></jats:sec>