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General practice care following acute exacerbations of COPD: A survey of Australian general practitioners

Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPDs) are one of the leading causes of preventable hospital admissions in Australia. Exacerbations are the strongest predictor for future exacerbations. The period immediately following an exacerbation is a high-risk period for recurrence and critical time to interven...

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Autores principales: Perera, Bianca, Barton, Chris, Osadnik, Christian
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10129000/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37098003
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284731
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author Perera, Bianca
Barton, Chris
Osadnik, Christian
author_facet Perera, Bianca
Barton, Chris
Osadnik, Christian
author_sort Perera, Bianca
collection PubMed
description Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPDs) are one of the leading causes of preventable hospital admissions in Australia. Exacerbations are the strongest predictor for future exacerbations. The period immediately following an exacerbation is a high-risk period for recurrence and critical time to intervene. The aim of this study was to identify current general practice care for patients following an AECOPD in Australia and gain insights into knowledge of evidence-based care. A cross-sectional survey was created and disseminated electronically to Australian general practitioners (GPs). Data were analysed descriptively. Comparisons between groups were made using Chi squared tests. From 64 responses, 47% were familiar with the COPD-X Plan. Only 50% described reviewing patients within seven days of discharge mostly related to a lack of awareness of the hospital admission. 50% of surveyed GPs reported hospital discharge summaries did not provide the information they required. Smoking, immunisation and medications were regularly assessed by >90% respondents at follow-up visits, while referrals to pulmonary rehabilitation, and evaluation of spirometry and oxygen therapy were not prioritised. GPs appear to require support to increase their familiarity with COPD guidelines and inform evidence-based clinical practice. The handover/communication process from hospital to primary care appears an important area for future improvement.
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spelling pubmed-101290002023-04-26 General practice care following acute exacerbations of COPD: A survey of Australian general practitioners Perera, Bianca Barton, Chris Osadnik, Christian PLoS One Research Article Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPDs) are one of the leading causes of preventable hospital admissions in Australia. Exacerbations are the strongest predictor for future exacerbations. The period immediately following an exacerbation is a high-risk period for recurrence and critical time to intervene. The aim of this study was to identify current general practice care for patients following an AECOPD in Australia and gain insights into knowledge of evidence-based care. A cross-sectional survey was created and disseminated electronically to Australian general practitioners (GPs). Data were analysed descriptively. Comparisons between groups were made using Chi squared tests. From 64 responses, 47% were familiar with the COPD-X Plan. Only 50% described reviewing patients within seven days of discharge mostly related to a lack of awareness of the hospital admission. 50% of surveyed GPs reported hospital discharge summaries did not provide the information they required. Smoking, immunisation and medications were regularly assessed by >90% respondents at follow-up visits, while referrals to pulmonary rehabilitation, and evaluation of spirometry and oxygen therapy were not prioritised. GPs appear to require support to increase their familiarity with COPD guidelines and inform evidence-based clinical practice. The handover/communication process from hospital to primary care appears an important area for future improvement. Public Library of Science 2023-04-25 /pmc/articles/PMC10129000/ /pubmed/37098003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284731 Text en © 2023 Perera et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Perera, Bianca
Barton, Chris
Osadnik, Christian
General practice care following acute exacerbations of COPD: A survey of Australian general practitioners
title General practice care following acute exacerbations of COPD: A survey of Australian general practitioners
title_full General practice care following acute exacerbations of COPD: A survey of Australian general practitioners
title_fullStr General practice care following acute exacerbations of COPD: A survey of Australian general practitioners
title_full_unstemmed General practice care following acute exacerbations of COPD: A survey of Australian general practitioners
title_short General practice care following acute exacerbations of COPD: A survey of Australian general practitioners
title_sort general practice care following acute exacerbations of copd: a survey of australian general practitioners
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10129000/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37098003
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284731
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