Underutilization of Pulmonary Function Testing in Veterans Hospitalized for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbation: Who are We Missing?

Underutilization of Pulmonary Function Testing in Veterans Hospitalized for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbation: Who are We Missing? COPD. 2020 Jan 17;:1-7 Authors: Bade BC, DeRycke EC, Skanderson M, Crothers K, Haskell S, Bean-Mayberry B, Cain HC, Brandt C, Bastian LA, Akgün KM Abstract Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is required to diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but is completed for only 30-50% of patients with the disease. We determined patient factors associated with decreased likelihood for PFT acquisition (i.e. underutilization) in the United States Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system.We performed a retrospective analysis of Veterans who survived a VA-based COPD hospitalization between 2012 and 2015. COPD was identified using International Classification of Disease (ICD)-9 codes. Our primary outcome was PFT acquisition, using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes any time prior to the index hospitalization. We compared patients with and without PFTs and used logistic regression to identify associations with PFT underutilization.Of the 48,888 Veterans included, 78% underwent PFTs prior to hospitalization. Patients without PFTs were younger and more likely to be: women (4.2% vs. 3.6%; p = 0.01), nonwhite (22% vs. 19%; p < 0.0001), and current smokers (66% vs 61%; p < 0.0001). PFT acquisition was less likely in Veterans with alcohol and drug use disorders. Using l...
Source: COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - Category: Respiratory Medicine Tags: COPD Source Type: research