Impact of Comorbidities on the Management Outcome of Acute Exacerbation of COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity globally.
COPD, if associated with multiple comorbidities, has a greater impact on treatment outcome and hospital stay, hence effective control
of COPD is crucial for enhancing quality of life. Our study assesses the effect of comorbidities on management outcomes in acute
exacerbations of COPD patients.
Materials & Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was planned on 630 patients. Patients with acute exacerbations of COPD
who were admitted to pulmonary ward and ICU were enrolled in the study. Data analysis was done using MS Excel and SPSS version
21.0. Unpaired students’t-test was used and p < 0.05 was taken to be statistically significant.
Results: 61.9% of patients had at least one associated comorbidity e.g. CAD (37.2%), hypertension (28.2%), diabetes mellitus (24.3%),
and CVD (10.3%). We found that acute exacerbation of COPD patients with comorbidities had prolonged hospital stay, greater ICU
admissions, and need for invasive ventilation as compared to those without comorbidities. Presence of comorbidities with COPD was
significantly associated with duration of hospital stay.
Conclusion: Comorbidities associated with acute exacerbations of COPD increase the hospital stay, need for ICU admission and more
invasive ventilation, and reduce the impact of treatments.