Table 6. Guideline statements related to clinical findings GOLD (2010)/NICE (2009)/SEPAR-ALAT (2009).

Summary Statements	AUDIPOC results for patients grouped by hospital
Clinical findings	Variable	Median	IRQ	Min-Max
An exacerbation of COPD is characterised by a change in the patient’sbaseline dyspnoea, cough, and/or sputum production or colour	Increased dyspnoea	96	93–100	84–100
	Increased sputum	64	54–72	9–100
	Increased purulence	88	80–100	17–100
	None of the symptoms	0	0–4	0–13
	Anthonisen Type I	40	30–49	7–100
	Anthonisen Type II	26	19–32	0–50
	Anthonisen Type III	31	23–40	0–91
Diagnosis	Variable	Median	IRQ	Min-Max
For patients that require hospitalisation, measurement of arterial bloodgases is important to assess the severity of an exacerbation.	Cases with a blood gas analysisin the emergency room	95	88–100	33–100
	Inspired oxygen concentrationrecorded in the ED	93	73–100	0–100
Oxygen therapy	Variable	Median	IRQ	Min-Max
Oxygen therapy is the cornerstone of hospital treatment of COPDexacerbations and Supplemental oxygen should be titrated to improve thepatient’s hypoxemia	Cases receiving oxygen duringadmission	98	95–100	53–100
	Pulse-oxymetry while receivingoxygen- therapy	98	86–100	0–100
Bronchodilators	Variable	Median	IRQ	Min-Max
Management of COPD exacerbations involves increasing the doseand/or frequency of existing short-acting bronchodilator therapy, preferablywith a ß2 agonist.	Cases on short-actingbronchodilators	98	94–100	61–100
	Cases on short-acting ß2 agonists	93	85–97	11–100
	Cases on ipratropium	94	88–100	15–100
Antibiotics	Variable	Median	IRQ	Min-Max
Antibiotics should be given to patients with three cardinal symptoms,with two cardinal symptoms if purulence of sputum is one of the twosymptoms, and patients that require mechanical ventilation	Cases on antibiotics withthree cardinal symptoms	98	90–100	50–100
	Cases on antibiotics with anincrease in sputum purulence	97	91–100	0–100
	Cases on ventilatorsupport receiving antibiotics	100	83–100	0–100
Steroids	Variable	Median	IRQ	Min-Max
In the absence of significant contraindications oral corticosteroids shouldbe used, in conjunction with other therapies, in all patients admitted to hospitalwith an exacerbation of COPD.	Cases on oral or intravenousglucocorticosteroids	94	89–98	50–100
Discharge report	Variable	Median	IRQ	Min-Max
Opportunities for prevention of future exacerbations should be reviewedbefore discharge, with particular attention to smoking cessation, currentvaccination (influenza, pneumococcal vaccines), knowledge of current therapyincluding inhaler technique and how to recognize symptoms of exacerbations.	Anti-tobacco instructions inactive smokers	43	23–63	0–100
	Influenza vaccination instructions	0	0–7	0–100
	Pneumococcal vaccinationinstructions	0	0–3	0–100
	Nutritional instructions	37	21–53	0–100
	Inhaler technique instructions	7	0–19	02100
	Programmed visit after discharge	95	89–100	30–100