TABLE 6.
Comparison of the three hospitals surveyed
| Variable |
Hospital |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| A | B | C | |
| Admissions (n=310) | |||
| Single admission | 54 (46) | 73 (64) | 64 (82) |
| 1 readmission | 33 (28) | 24 (21) | 10 (13) |
| 2 readmissions | 15 (13) | 11 (10) | 3 (4) |
| ≥3 readmissions | 15 (13) | 7 (6) | 1 (1) |
| Total | 117 | 115 | 78 |
| Patient characteristics (n=310) | |||
| Age, years (mean ± SD) | 76±10 | 70±11 | 75±15 |
| Men | 69 (59) | 67 (58) | 30 (39) |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Canadian born | 21 (18) | 7 (6) | 3 (4) |
| Foreign born | 34 (29) | 19 (17) | 43 (55) |
| Missing data | 62 (53) | 89 (77) | 32 (41) |
| Premorbid health characteristics | |||
| FEV1 % predicted, L (mean ± SD) | 33 ±10 | 48 ±13 | 56±19 |
| Preadmission home oxygen | 47 (40) | 31 (27) | 17 (22) |
| Charlson comorbidity | |||
| Congestive heart failure | 56 (48) | 33 (29) | 24 (31) |
| Other respiratory disease | 67 (57) | 43 (55) | 64 (56) |
| History of lung infection | 41 (35) | 36 (31) | 18 (23) |
| Social characteristics | |||
| Living with someone | 72 (62) | 40 (35) | 50 (64) |
| Formal home support | 40 (34) | 28 (24) | 20 (26) |
|
Health care and delivery characteristics (n=503 patient encounters) | |||
| Admitting services | |||
| Respiratory medicine | 46 (21) | 36 (19.3) | 12 (12.5) |
| Internal medicine | 69 (32) | 98 (52.4) | 61 (63.5) |
| Family practice | 63 (29) | 6 (3.2) | 10 (10.4) |
| Respiratory medication use in the first 24 h of admission | |||
| Inhaled corticosteroids | 64 (28) | 57 (31) | 53 (55) |
| Oral corticosteroids | 69 (31) | 121 (65) | 22 (23) |
| Parenteral corticosteroids | 31 (14) | 15 (8) | 35 (36) |
| Antibiotics | 129 (59) | 116 (62) | 84 (88) |
| Postdischarge follow-up | |||
| Family doctor | 122 (56) | 145 (78) | 49 (51) |
| Respirologist | 69 (31) | 143 (77) | 24 (25) |
| Internist | 9 (4) | 69 (37) | 7 (7) |
Data presented as n (%) unless indicated otherwise. FEV1 Forced expiratory volume in 1 s