COPD-Related ED Visits in North Carolina: Hospitalizations and Return Visits

Methods We performed a population-based study of ED visits for COPD using state-wide surveillance data from NC DETECT[4], including all ED visits made by NC residents aged ≥45 years in 2008-2009. Visits were considered COPD-related if the firstor second-listed discharge diagnoses contained one of the following ICD-9-CM codes: 491.*, 492.*, 493.2*, 494.*, or 496.*. Hospital admissions were captured by ED disposition codes. If a patient had made another COPDrelated ED visit within the prior 3 or 30 days, we defined the current visit as a 3-day or 30-day return visit. We compared the prevalence of hospitalization and 3and 30-day return visits by age, sex, and payment method. We also described the disposition patterns for return visit pairs.