TY - JOUR T1 - How long does a COPD exacerbation last? – Predictors for duration more than 3 weeks JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 44 IS - Suppl 58 SP - P1072 AU - Gunnar Husebø AU - Per Bakke AU - Marianne Aanerud AU - Jon Hardie AU - Rune Grønseth AU - Tomas Eagan Y1 - 2014/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P1072.abstract N2 - Background: There is a large diversity in both duration and severity of acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). This study aimed to identify predictors for AECOPD lasting more than 3 weeks.Methods: The study included 433 patients with COPD aged 41-76 from the Bergen COPD cohort study. All patients had a FEV1<80% predicted, FEV1/FVC ratio <0.7, and smoking history of more than 10 pack years. Patients were examined and interviewed by a physician every 6 months for 3 years. Duration was self-reported upon each 6 months visit, and severity was classified in three categories; mild, moderate (need for antibiotics or steroids) and severe (hospital admission). A cutoff for a long-lasting AECOPD was set at three weeks. A random effects logistic regression model was fitted with AECOPD duration as the outcome variable, adjusting for sex, age, smoking status, GOLD-status, body composition (normal, cachectic or obese), exacerbation severity and season.Results: 350 patients had between 1 and 21 exacerbation during three years, (median 3, IQR 5). Duration of exacerbation varied between 1 and 196 days (median 14, IQR 15). Univariately, moderate and severe AECOPD, OR 1.6 (p<0.01) and OR 2.4 (p<0.01) respectively, were the best predictors, with OR 1.5 (p=0.01) and OR 2.4 (p<0.01) in the adjusted model. Other predictors (univariately and adjusted values) were obesity, OR 1.5 (p=0.04) and 1.5 (p=0.03), season/winter, OR 1.5 (p=0.01) and 1.5 (p=0.01), and chronic cough, OR 1.5 (p<0.01) and 1.3 (p=0.04). Age, sex, GOLD-status and smoking were not associated with AECOPD duration.Conclusion: AECOPD duration increases with severity, in winter, and in patients with obesity and/or chronic cough. ER -