Table 1.
Characteristics of patients and treatment of exacerbations.
| n (%) | |
|---|---|
| Patients | 35 589 |
| Patients with COPD | 458 (1.3) |
| Maintenance medicationa | |
| β2 agonists/anticholinergics | 83 (18) |
| Inhaled corticosteroids (± β2 agonists/anticholinergics) | 297 (66) |
| No daily medication used | 71 (16) |
| Incidence of exacerbations over 2 years | |
| Patients with no exacerbations | 215 (47) |
| Patients with 1 or 2 exacerbations | 162 (35) |
| Patients with ≥3 exacerbations | 81 (18) |
| Treatment of exacerbations (n = 572) | |
| Antibiotics | 157 (29) |
| Short course of steroids | 161 (30) |
| Antibiotics and steroids | 121 (23) |
| No antibiotics and no steroids | 97 (18) |
| Treated by pulmonologist | 36 (6) |
a
Seven patients used medication that fell outside the three medication groups. Three patients used acetylcysteine only, two were on theophylline, and maintenance medication was not known for two patients.