By: James Pitt  May. 09, 2018
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease involving reduced airflow. According to the Centers for Disease Control, COPD was the third-leading cause of death in the US in 2014. The main cause is long-term exposure to lung irritants. Dexur has covered COPD heavily, including the US hospitals with shortest length of stay.
COPD commonly occurs alongside one or more other conditions. In fact, patients with COPD have a higher risk of comorbidities than controls. A 2013 review listed:
Patients with COPD in addition to other conditions have increased mortality risk, along with worse health status and disability. To examine how COPD affects patient outcomes, Dexur analysts used CMS discharge data to examine 2013-2016 ICU stays among patients with and without COPD among patients at hospitals in Wisconsin.
For all comorbidities examined, patients with COPD were more likely to have an ICU stay than patients without COPD. The strongest effect was in DRG 329, Major Small And Large Bowel Procedures With Major Complication Or Comorbidity.
Here, Dexur analysts used odds ratios to summarize the relationship between COPD and ICU stays in DRG 329 patients. At Froedtert Hospital, the odds that a DRG 329 patient with COPD would have an ICU stay were 4.03 times the odds that a DRG 329 patient without COPD would have an ICU stay.
Previous research has found a link between COPD and increased length of stay (LOS) in colorectal surgery patients. Kelly et. al 2012 found that COPD increased median LOS by at least a week. Schmelzer et. al 2008 found that patients with COPD were more likely to have greater-than-median LOS than patients without (3.1 odds ratio). Programs like enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) may help reduce length of stay in colorectal surgery patients.