Table 1: Baseline characteristics of the Whole Cohort, the Hospital Utilization Cohort, and the Ward Cohort.

Variable Hospital
Whole Cohort Utilization Cohort Ward Cohort
N=405 N=210 N=118
Age, year, mean (SD) 71.4 (11.5) 71.8 (10.1) 71.3 (10.3)
Sex, male, n (%) 198 (48.9) 104 (49.5) 53 (44.9)
LOS ward, days, median (Q1-Q3) 6.0 (4.0-9.0) 6.0 (4.0-9.0) 6.0 (4.0-11.0)
Reason for admission, n (%)
COPD 278 (68.6) 148 (70.5) 80 (67.8)
COPD/pneumonia 114 (28.1) 56 (26.7) 33 (28.0)
COPD/CHF 13 (3.2) 6 (2.9) 5 (4.2)
COPD confirmed with spirometry, n (%)
Yes 330 (81.5) 169 (80.5) 92 (78.0)
No 3 (0.7) 3 (1.4) 2 (1.7)
Not available 72 (17.8) 38 (18.1) 24 (20.3)
Post bronchodilator spirometry, mean (SD)
At admission
FEV1,% predicted 32.3 (14.8) 32.3 (14.4) 32.7 (16.4)
FEV1/FVC,% 49.1 (14.3) 48.8 (14.8) 50.3 (15.6)
At discharge
FEV1,% predicted 35.6 (15.7) 36.1 (16.5) 37.1 (18.8)
FEV1/FVC,% 47.5 (14.9) 47.9 (15.5) 50.9 (18.3)
Comorbidities, n (%)
Home oxygen 67 (16.5) 36 (17.1) 27 (22.9)
Obstructive Sleep Apnea 45 (11.1) 29 (13.8) 19 (16.1)
Hypercapnia 19 (4.7) 10 (4.8) 8 (6.8)
Bronchiectasis 30 (7.4) 17 (8.1) 12 (10.2)
Pulmonary Fibrosis 1 (0.3) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)
Asthma 24 (5.9) 11 (5.2) 4 (3.4)


Values are expressed as mean (SD) or n (%) or median (Q1-Q3).
LOS: Length of Stay, COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, CHF: Congestive Heart Failure, FEV1: Force Expiratory Volume in 1 second, FVC: Forced Vital Capacity