Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 77 COPD patients with severe acute exacerbations
| Median (IQR, Q1–Q3) or number (%) | |
|---|---|
| Age, years | 73 (66–78) |
| Sex, male | 67 (87.0) |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 22.3 (20.6–25.2) |
| Smoking history | |
| Current or former smoker | 73 (94.8) |
| Comorbidities | 61 (79.2) |
| Hypertension | 35 (45.5) |
| Asthma | 25 (32.5) |
| Malignancy | 17 (22.1) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 15 (19.5) |
| Ischemic heart disease | 11 (14.3) |
| Cor pulmonale | 8 (10.4) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 7 (9.1) |
| Congestive heart failure | 6 (7.8) |
| Tuberculosis-destroyed lung | 6 (7.8) |
| Chronic renal disease | 5 (6.5) |
| Chronic liver disease | 1 (1.3) |
| Pulmonary function tests | |
| FEV1/FVC, % | 45 (34–55) |
| FEV1, L | 1.1 (0.8–1.5) |
| FEV1, % predicted | 44 (32–57) |
| Laboratory findings | |
| pHa in arterial blood | 7.4 (7.4–7.5) |
| PaCO2,a mmHg | 41 (36–47) |
| ESR,b mm/h | 34 (14–51) |
| CRP, mg/dL | 1.7 (0.4–6.2) |
| Procalcitonin,c ng/mL | 0.1 (0.1–0.2) |
| Medical treatments | |
| Home oxygen therapy | 9 (11.7) |
| Long-term oral steroids | 9 (11.7) |
| Inhalerd | |
| None | 9 (11.7) |
| ICS/LABA | 53 (68.8) |
| LAMA | 42 (54.5) |
| LABA | 4 (5.2) |
| Others | 6 (7.8) |
Notes:
a
Data for 69 patients were available.
b
Data for 56 patients were available.
c
Data for 47 patients were available.
d
Reported inhaler use prior to first admission; some patients used more than one inhaler.
Abbreviations: CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity; ICS, inhaled corticosteroid; IQR, interquartile range; LABA, long-acting β2-agonist; LAMA, long acting muscarinic antagonist; PaCO2, partial pressure of arterial CO2.