RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Characteristics of COPD exacerbations in Greece
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP P992
VO 40
IS Suppl 56
A1 Foteini Malli
A1 Zoe Daniil
A1 Eleni Bania
A1 Evangelos C. Alexopoulos
A1 Nikolaos Tzanakis
A1 Epaminondas Kosmas
A1 Michael Toumbis
A1 Konstantinos I. Goyrgoulianis
YR 2012
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P992.abstract
AB Background and Aims: Acute Exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We aimed to provide data on the characteristics of AECOPD in a large group of COPD patients in Greece.Methods: Patients diagnosed with an AECOPD referred to 27 Greek hospitals and 114 chest specialists were included. Demographic data, previous treatment, lung function testing and co-morbidity were recorded.Results: Six thousand and fourteen patients were included in the study, 4360 (72.5%) males, age median (interquartile): 68(60-75) yrs. Up to 47.8% of patients were current smokers. Median BMI was 27.5kg/m2 (24.9-30.6). Two or more co morbidities were found in 55.8%. The vast majority of the patients (86.4%) were receiving regular treatment for COPD before the exacerbation. The majority of patients (61%) were classified as moderate-to-severe COPD. Almost ¼ (23.4%) of patients had hypoxemic respiratory failure and 10.3% of them developed hypercapnia during stable state. A remarkable percentage of patients (28.3%) experienced more than 3 exacerbations. Patients aged >76 yrs had increased number of AECOPD vs patients aged<60 yrs(p=0.03). Disease duration >5 yrs, COPD stages of 3 or 4, comorbidity and non compliance with treatment were associated with increased annual frequency of AECOPD. Increased disease duration (>11 yrs), COPD stage 4 and non compliant patients demonstrated increased OR for ICU admission (OR(95%CI): 1.8 (1.1-2.81), p=0.018, 2.8 (1.4-5.5), p=0.002, 1.4 (1.0-2.0), p=0.043, respectively).Conclusions: Our study showed that patients presenting AECOPD have a wide range of severity, while the exacerbation rate is associated with age, disease severity stage, comorbidity and compliance with regular treatment.