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

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. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12931-023-02393-7.