Impact of Medication Adherence on Emergency Department Visits in Patients with COPD in a Single Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia

There is a very limited information and studies on the impact of adherence to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) medications in Saudi Arabia. We hypothesized that the adherence to COPD medication in our tertiary hospital is poor and can lead to frequent ED visits and longer hospitalization stays. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of medication adherence in patients with COPD on emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization. A single-center retrospective observational study included patients with a COPD exacerbation, who were admitted to a tertiary teaching hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from October 2017 to November 2020. The primary outcome was the rate of emergency department (ED) visit in one year. Secondary outcomes were hospitalization after ED visit and total hospital length of stay. Medication adherence was evaluated by using Fixed Medication Possession Ratio (FMPR). Patients with score of ≥0.80 were classified as high-adherent groups while patients with ratio