Table 2.
Frequency and characteristics of acute exacerbations, hospital admissions, and visits to emergency rooms and outpatient clinics for tele monitored patients and controls
| Tele monitoring, N=141 | Controls, N=140 | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital admission for COPD exacerbation, mean (range) | 0.55 (0–5) | 0.54 (0.4) | 0.74 |
| All cause hospital admissions, mean (range) | 1.19 (0–12) | 1.31 (0–9) | 0.28 |
| At least one hospitalization (any cause), % | 46.8% | 51.4% | 0.44 |
| Length of stay, all-cause hospital admissions (days), mean (range) | 5.35 (0–71) | 5.29 (0–53) | 0.38 |
| At least one COPD exacerbation requiring hospital admission, % | 29.1% | 31.4% | 0.67 |
| Length of stay, COPD hospital admissions (days), mean (range) | 1.76 (0–52) | 2.02 (0–31) | 0.51 |
| Exacerbation of COPD not requiring hospital admission,a mean (range) | 1.21 (0–17) | 0.73 (0–8) | 0.001 |
| At least one exacerbation of COPD not requiring hospitalizationa | 58.2% | 37.1% | <0.001 |
| Visits to the emergency room, mean (range) | 0.11 (0–3) | 0.16 (0–2) | 0.12 |
| Visits to the respiratory outpatient clinic, mean (range) | 0.26 (0–3) | 0.99 (0–7) | <0.001 |
| Visits to nonrespiratory outpatient clinics, mean (range) | 1.34 (0–12) | 1.41 (0–10) | 0.43 |
Note:
a
An exacerbation was defined as a worsening of COPD symptoms requiring treatment with a rescue course of systemic corticosteroids and/or antibiotics.