Impact of Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Hospitalizations for XXXX Among Members of an Integrated Health Care System.

@entity1 @entity479 @entity1030
PURPOSE: The evidence regarding the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on health care resource use remains limited. This retrospective study evaluated the effects of PR on the primary outcome of all-cause hospitalizations and secondary outcomes of other health care use, exercise capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and body weight in @entity1 with @entity1030 ( @entity1030 ) in a large integrated health care system. METHODS: The PR cohort included 558 @entity1 with a @entity1030 diagnosis, age >=  40 years, who were treated with a bronchodilator or @entity479 inhaler, participated in 1 of 13 PR programs between January 1, 2008, and August 1, 2013, and were continuously enrolled in the health plan >=  12 months prior to and after PR. Two non-PR control cohorts were assembled for comparison. Data were extracted from electronic health records. The 6-minute walk test and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire results were available for a subset. RESULTS: The proportion of @entity1 who were hospitalized 12 months post-PR was lower compared with the 12 months prior (37% vs 45%, P = .001) while emergency department use was not different (52% vs 54%). @entity1 who declined PR for logistical reasons had a 40% higher risk of hospitalization than PR @entity1 (relative risk = 1.40, 95% CI: 0.96-2.06, P = .08). There were significant improvements in the 6-minute walk test distance (+43 m) and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire total score (-9.6 points) but minimal changes in weight. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding that participation in PR is associated with reductions in hospitalizations corroborates previous studies. A notable strength of this study is the capture of complete utilization data.
