Pulmonary rehabilitation after severe exacerbation of COPD: a nationwide population study

Abstract Background Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) lead to a significant reduction in quality of life and an increased mortality risk. Current guidelines strongly recommend pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) after a severe exacerbation. Studies reporting referral for PR are scarce, with no report to date in Europe. Therefore, we assessed the proportion of French patients receiving PR after hospitalization for COPD exacerbation and factors associated with referral. Methods This was a national retrospective study based on the French health insurance database. Patients hospitalized in 2017 with COPD exacerbation were identified from the exhaustive French medico-administrative database of hospitalizations. In France, referral to PR has required as a stay in a specialized PR center or unit accredited to provide multidisciplinary care (exercise training, education, etc.) and admission within 90 days after discharge was assessed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between patients’ characteristics, comorbidities according to the Charlson index, treatment, and PR uptake. Results Among 48,638 patients aged ≥ 40 years admitted for a COPD exacerbation, 4,182 (8.6%) received PR within 90 days after discharge. General practitioner’s (GP) density (number of GPs for the population at regional level) and PR center facilities (number of beds for the population at regional level) were significantly correlated with PR uptake (respectively r = 0.64 and r = 0.71). In multivariate analysis, variables independently associated with PR uptake were female gender (aOR 1.36 [1.28–1.45], p < 0.0001), age (p < 0.0001), comorbidities (p = 0.0013), use of non-invasive ventilation and/or oxygen therapy (aOR 1.52 [1.41–1.64], p < 0.0001) and administration of long-acting bronchodilators (p = 0.0038). Conclusion This study using the French nationally exhaustive health insurance database shows that PR uptake after a severe COPD exacerbation is dramatically low and must become a high-priority management strategy

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease in France: methodological considerations and pitfalls with the use of Health claims databases

International audienceBackground Health policy-making require careful assessment of CKD epidemiology to develop efficient and cost-effective care strategies. The aim of the present study was to use the RENALGO-EXPERT algorithm to estimate the global prevalence of CKD in France. Methods An expert group developed the RENALGO-EXPERT algorithm based on healthcare consumption. This algorithm has been applied to the French National Health claims database (SNDS), where no biological test findings are available in order to estimate a national CKD prevalence for the years 2018–2021. The CONSTANCES cohort (+ 219 000 adults aged 18–69 with one CKD-EPI eGFR) was used to discuss the limit of using health claims data. Results Between 2018 and 2021, the estimated prevalence in the SNDS increased from 8.1% to 10.5%. The RENALGO-EXPERT algorithm identified 4.5% of the volunteers in the CONSTANCES as CKD. The RENALGO-EXPERT algorithm had a PPV of 6.2% and NPV of 99.1% to detect an eGFR&amp;amp;lt;60 ml/min/1.73m². Half of 252 false positive cases (ALGO +, eGFR &amp;amp;gt; 90) had been diagnosed with kidney disease during hospitalization, and the other half based on healthcare consumption suggestive of a ‘high-risk’ profile. 95% of the 1661 false negatives (ALGO -, eGFR &amp;amp;lt; 60) had an eGFR between 45 and 60 ml/min, ½ had medication and 2/3 a biological exams possibly linked to CKD. Half of them had a hospital stay during the period but none had a diagnosis of kidney disease. Conclusions Our result is in accordance with other estimations of CKD prevalence in the general population. Analysis of diverging cases (FP and FN) suggests using health claims data has inherent limitations. Such algorithm is able to identify patients whose care pathway is close to the usual and specific CKD pathways. It does not identify patients who have not been diagnosed or whose care is inappropriate or at early stage with stable GFR