Reducing Hospitalisation for Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with a Home Care Programme

摘要

This study aims to evaluate the success of a nurse-led, post-discharge home care programme for patients following hospitalization for acute exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.To date, 115 patients have completed 6 months of follow-up by the team. The results showed that the mean length of hospital stay was reduced from 7.7days to 3.4days in a 6-month period before and after the programme (p<0.001). Number of hospital admissions was reduced from a mean of 2.0 to 0.7 episodes (p<0.001).For the patients who have completed their pulmonary rehabilitation, mean SGRQ scores reduced from 30.35 to 13.77 (p<0.001). Mean 6-minute walk test increased from 359.13m to 415.00m (p=0.001).The programme has been successful in reducing the hospitalization days and admission rates for acute exacerbation of COPD.