Search

Background Healthcare metrics have been used to drive improvement in outcome and delivery in UK hospital stroke and cardiac care. This model is attractive for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care because of disease frequency and the burden it places on primary, secondary and integrated care services. Methods Using 'hospital episode statistics' (UK 'coding'), we examined hospital 'bed days/1000 population' in 1 50 UK Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) during 2006-07 and 2007-08. Data were adjusted for COPD prevalence. We looked at year-on-year consistency and factors which influenced variation. Results There were 248 996 COPD admissions during 2006-08. 'Bed days/1000 PCT population' was consistent between years (r= 0.87; P < 0.001). There was a >2-fold difference in bed days between the best and worst performing PCTs which was primarily a consequence of variation in emergency admission rate (P < 0.001) and proportion of emergency admissions due to COPD (P < 0.001) and to only a lesser extent length of hospital stay (P < 0.001). Conclusions Bed days/1000 population appears a useful annual metric of COPD care quality. Good COPD care keeps patients active and out of hospital and requires co-ordinated action from both hospital and community services, with an important role for integrated care. This metric demonstrates that current care is highly variable and offers a measurable target to commission against. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaolin is removed from underground seams in the mining area to a processing area, where it is sliced, dried, and pulverised to make the finished product. A study was undertaken to determine the dust concentrations in various work areas and to assess the prevalence of radiographic and pulmonary function abnormalities in 65 workers at a Georgia kaolin mine. Respirable dust concentrations were higher in the processing area than in the mine or maintenance areas for all determinations from 1977 to 1981. The mean respirable dust level in the processing area in 1981 was 1.74 mg/m3 and 0.14 mg/m3 in the mine area. Five workers, all of whom had worked at the processing area, had radiographic evidence of kaolin pneumoconiosis. The mean values of forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1 of the entire group were within the normal range. When the spirometric values were expressed as a percentage of the predicted values, the FVC and FEV1 were significantly lower in the workers with kaolinosis than in other workers in the processing area. The FVC and FEV1 also declined significantly with increasing years of work in the processing area. The FEV1/FVC%, however, was not significantly altered either by the presence of kaolinosis or by an increasing number of years of work, indicating that the impairment was restrictive and hence likely to be a consequence of dust inhalation rather than smoking. In this study the highest dust concentrations occurred in the processing area, and kaolin pneumoconiosis was limited to those who had worked there. Kaolin exposure appeared to have a small but significant effect on ventilatory capacity in those with kaolin pneumoconiosis and in workers with a longer exposure. There was no association between the radiographic appearances of kaolinosis and cigarette smoking or between the presence of radiographic abnormalities and reduced arterial blood gas tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1967 to 1972 12 patients were operated on for emphysematous bullae in the Liverpool regional cardiothoracic centre. The patient with the poorest lung function died in the immediate postoperative period but the remainder survived for more than five years. All but one of the survivors showed evidence of benefit three to six months after surgery and all those not retired returned to full-time employment for at least five years. Nine patients were reviewed 5-10 years after surgery. These all reported a gradual return of dyspnoea, which was matched by a falling one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) (mean fall 82 ml a year); but five were still maintaining some of their postoperative improvement. When mean preoperative lung function values were compared with the values obtained 5-10 years later there was still a significant improvement in forced vital capacity; but FEV1, residual volume, transfer coefficient, and arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions were unchanged. Chest radiographs showed no new bullae or (except in one case) any increase in size of pre-existing bullae. We conclude that the removal of large emphysematous bullae did not hasten the progress of the underlying emphysema and that in most patients some benefit lasted for more than five years after the operation. Patients treated by lobectomy fared at least as well as those treated by bullectomy alone. It may be relevant to the relatively good progress of patients in this series that only three had suffered from chronic bronchitis before operation or smoked after operation, all but two had bullae occupying half or more of one hemithorax, and none had hypercapnia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]