Efficacy of a special COPD consultation in reducing hospital admissions and emergency room visits

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a monographic consultation in patients with moderate- severe-very severe COPD with 2 or more exacerbations in the previous year that have required hospitalization to reduce the number of admissions and emergency room visits. Methods A retrospective study which analyzed data from 90 patients in the monographic COPD consultation between December 2009 and December 2011.The intervention consisted of monthly medical visits, health education and direct contact number in the case of exacerbations. The results were compared with data from the same cohort during the same period the year before inclusion in the consultation. Statistical Analysis: T-Student test. Results We included 90 patients, with a mean age of 70.0.± 0.9, 20% were current smokers. PB FEV1 (ml) medium was 1187 ± 43 (41 ± 2). The number of hospital admissions that the patients had had the year before inclusion in the special consultations was 2.4 ± 0.2 compared with the number of hospital admissions per year after inclusion in the consultations 1.1 ± 0.29, representing a decrease of 54% in hospital admissions and a decrease of 41% in emergency room visits. The inhalation technique improved from 1.33 ± 0.07 to 1.80 ± 0.05, which represents an improvement of 35% and improved treatment adherence 1.60 ± 0.07 to 1.84 ± 0.05, representing an improvement of 15%. Conclusions A special consultation for COPD patients with frequent exacerbations, leads to a significant reduction in the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits, as well as improved treatment adherence.