שם הנושא
Respiratory Diseases
Documentation of spirometry testing in patients with COPD or those at high-risk for COPD (ages 50-74 years)

Individuals whose spirometry results were documented in their medical file (numerator), among Individuals diagnosed with or defined at high-risk for COPD who had spirometry (denominator)
Rational:
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a common respiratory disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation that is due to airway and/or alveolar abnormalities. According to WHO data, in 2015 COPD was the fourth leading cause of death worldwide [1]. Despite being the gold standard for the diagnosis and assessment of COPD, spirometry testing is underused. Earlier diagnosis using spirometry testing supports a treatment plan that may slow the progression of symptoms and decrease the number of exacerbations [2].
Numerator:
Individuals in the denominator whose spirometry results were documented in their medical file
Denominator
Individuals diagnosed with or defined at high-risk for COPD who had spirometry ever since 01/01/2011
Notes:
Individuals diagnosed with COPD are defined by a new diagnosis of COPD, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema or chronic bronchiectasis or by purchasing COPD specific medications. Individuals at high risk for COPD are defined as persons with a history of tobacco smoking that were either diagnosed with asthma or purchased medications for chronic respiratory diseases.
Notes:
[1] J. B. Soriano et al., “Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability, adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015,” Lancet Respir. Med., 5(9):691–706.
[2] Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. 2017. “Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.” Available: http://goldcopd.org/gold-2017-global-strategy-diagnosis-management-prevention-copd/
Results:
Documentation of spirometry testing by year

Documentation of spirometry testing by socio-economic position (1-lowest, 4-highest) and sex
