Preventing hospital admissions for COPD: role of physical activity.

A hospital admission or readmission for an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is bad news for everyone. In British hospitals emergency inpatient admission is the largest component of the total cost of respiratory disease to the NHS that amounts to over £2.5 billion. In recent years attention has focused on reducing the cost and impact of hospital admissions for COPD. The emphasis of the strategy to date has been on admission avoidance and early supported discharge schemes. These have had some success in curtailing admissions and reducing lengths of hospital stay, and are beginning to be introduced more widely into clinical practice.