Association between antibiotic treatment and outcomes in patients hospitalized with acute exacerbation of COPD treated with systemic steroids.
BACKGROUND
Antibiotics are widely used in acute exacerbations of COPD (AE-COPD), but their additional benefit to a therapeutic regimen that already includes steroids is uncertain. We evaluated the association between antibiotic therapy and outcomes among a large cohort of patients treated with steroids who were hospitalized with AE-COPD and compared the effectiveness of three commonly used antibiotic regimens.


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 40 years hospitalized for AE-COPD from January 1, 2006, through December 1, 2007, at 410 acute care hospitals throughout the United States.


RESULTS
Of the 53,900 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 85% were treated with antibiotics in the first 2 hospital days; 50% were treated with a quinolone, 22% with macrolides plus cephalosporin, and 9% with macrolide monotherapy. Compared with patients not treated with antibiotics, those who received antibiotics had lower mortality (1% vs 1.8%, P < .0001). In multivariable analysis, receipt of antibiotics was associated with a 40% reduction in the risk of in-hospital mortality (RR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.50-0.73) and a 13% reduction in the risk of 30-day readmission for COPD (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79-0.96). The risk of late ventilation and readmission for Clostridium difficile colitis was not significantly different between the two groups. We found little difference in the outcomes associated with three common antibiotic treatment choices.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the addition of antibiotics to a regimen that includes steroids may have a beneficial effect on short-term outcomes for patients hospitalized with AE-COPD.
Division of General Medicine, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield; Department of Medicine, and Center for Quality of Care Research, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield; Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston; Program in Clinical and Translational Research, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston. Electronic address: mihaela.stefan@bhs.org.
Mihaela S
MS
Stefan
Division of General Medicine, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield; Department of Medicine, and Center for Quality of Care Research, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield; Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston; Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston.
Michael B
MB
Rothberg
Department of Medicine, and Center for Quality of Care Research, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield.
Meng-Shiou
MS
Shieh
Department of Medicine, and Center for Quality of Care Research, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield; School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, MA.
Penelope S
PS
Pekow
Division of General Medicine, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield; Department of Medicine, and Center for Quality of Care Research, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield; Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston; Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston; Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Boston.
Peter K
PK
Lindenauer
D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010359:Patient Readmission; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015363:Quinolones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002511:Cephalosporins; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D018942:Macrolides; D015363:Quinolones