Research Article Presentations to Emergency Departments for COPD: A Time Series Analysis Rhonda J. Rosychuk, 1 Erik Youngson, 2 and Brian H. Rowe 3,4,5 1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 1C9 2 Patient Health Outcomes Research and Clinical Efectiveness Unit, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2M8 3 Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2R7 4 School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 1C9 5 Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 3E4 Correspondence should be addressed to Brian H. Rowe; browe@ualberta.ca Received 29 September 2015; Accepted 1 January 2016 Copyright © 2016 Rhonda J. Rosychuk et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory condition characterized by progressive dyspnea and acute exacerbations which may result in emergency department (ED) presentations. Tis study examines monthly rates of presentations to EDs in one Canadian province. Methods. Presentations for COPD made by individuals aged ≥55 years during April 1999 to March 2011 were extracted from provincial databases. Data included age, sex, and health zone of residence (North, Central, South, and urban). Crude rates were calculated. Seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) time series models were developed. Results. ED presentations for COPD totalled 188,824 and the monthly rate of presentation remained relatively stable (from 197.7 to 232.6 per 100,000). Males and seniors (≥65 years) comprised 52.2% and 73.7% of presentations, respectively. Te ARIMA(1, 0, 0) × (1, 0, 1) 12 model was appropriate for the overall rate of presentations and for each sex and seniors. Zone specifc models showed relatively stable or decreasing rates; the North zone had an increasing trend. Conclusions. ED presentation rates for COPD have been relatively stable in Alberta during the past decade. However, their increases in northern regions deserve further exploration. Te SARIMA models quantifed the temporal patterns and can help planning future health care service needs. 1. Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a com- mon and disabling condition usually caused by cigarette smoke exposure and characterized by progressive symptoms of dyspnea. Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) are characterized by an increase in the ongoing symptoms of cough, sputum production, sputum purulence, and/or short- ness of breath which usually require changes in baseline med- ical management [1, 2]. Overall, these COPD exacerbations vary in severity from mild to life threatening and are expected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030 [3]. Patients with COPD ofen experience exacerbations and some exacerbations are severe enough to require emer- gency department (ED) management. Treatment guidelines for AECOPD exist and prolonged treatment may occur in the ED, some exacerbations result in complications including pneumothorax, pneumonia, need for noninvasive ventilation, intubation and mechanical ventilation, and death. Due to the advanced age of patients, associated severe comorbidities, and severity of many presentations, hospital admission is a common outcome in severe exacerbations (33% in COPD [4] versus 9% in asthma [5]). Not surprisingly, among ambulatory care sensitive conditions, COPD is the leading reason for hospitalizations in Canada [3]. Based on data health professional-diagnosed COPD from the 1994-95 National Health Survey, prevalence rates are esti- mated to be 4.7%, 5.4%, and 8.3% in Canadians aged 55–64, 65–74, and ≥75, respectively [6]. More recently, 2012 national data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network provide primary care rates of diagnosed COPD of 3.3%, 6.6%, 11.3%, and 14.8% for ages 50–59, 60–69, 70– 79, and 80+, respectively, while trends suggest that disease prevalence and frst listed hospital discharge rate is stable in men; however, the prevalence is increasing among women, Hindawi Publishing Corporation Canadian Respiratory Journal Volume 2016, Article ID 1382434, 9 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/1382434