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Clinical InvestigationsCOPDMortality and Mortality-Related Factors After Hospitalization for Acute Exacerbation of COPD*
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
We prospectively included in the study all patients who had been admitted for an acute exacerbation of COPD to the pulmonology ward of the University Hospital Maastricht between January 1 and December 31, 1999. Besides its academic function, the University Hospital of Maastricht has an important function as a regional hospital, therefore this patient population is representative of general pulmonary practices.
Patients were included if the following criteria were met: diagnosis of COPD,
Patient Characteristics
Between January 1, 1999, and January 1, 2000, 171 patients were admitted to the pulmonology ward of the University Hospital Maastricht with an acute exacerbation of COPD. Patient characteristics are listed in Table 1.
Most patients were elderly, and comorbid illnesses were common. About 30% of the patients even had two or more comorbid conditions. Hypoxia was a common condition on hospital admission as well as hypercapnia (Pao2 ≤ 8.7 kPa, 85% of patients; Paco2 ≥ 5.9 kPa, 55% of patients).
Discussion
The present study confirms previous data about mortality after acute exacerbations of COPD. Mortality during hospital admission for an acute exacerbation of COPD was high and continued to increase after hospital discharge.
For patients requiring ICU admission during their hospital stay, mortality was even higher. Besides Paco2 and age, which were previously established as predictors of mortality, the long-term use of oral corticosteroids was found to be an important independent risk factor for
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This study was supported by a research grant from Astra-Zeneca BV, the Netherlands.