title: Frequency of Exacerbations and Hospitalizations in COPD Patients Who Continue to Smoke.
abstract: We evaluated the frequency of exacerbations and hospitalizations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who continue to smoke.: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of the COPD patients treated in Chest Diseases Clinic of Kocaeli University School of Medicine in 2007-2013. Their demographic characteristics, smoking status (non-smoker, current smoker, ex-smoker), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and history of COPD exacerbation and hospitalizations were evaluated. The cases of 120 patients (11 females, 9.2%; 109 males, 90.8%) were analyzed. Sixteen (13.3%) of the patients were current smokers, and 104 patients were ex-smokers (n=99) or non-smokers (n=5). The mean age was 69.7±7.9 years in the ex-smokers and 62.94±6.8 years in the current smokers. There were no significant differences between the current and ex-smokers regarding smoking history, FEV1 value, frequencies of exacerbations and hospitalization per year, or duration of follow-up. The initial stage of the COPD and the frequency of exacerbations were significantly correlated (p=0.003). The CCI values were significantly higher in the ex-smokers compared to current smokers (p=0.02). A correlation analysis of age, hospitalization and CCI revealed that age was significantly correlated with the hospitalization rate (p=0.02). Older age and the presence of comorbidities in ex-smokers might explain the similar rates of exacerbation and hospitalization between these current and ex-smokers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Kocaeli University School of Medicine, Kocaeli 41380, Turkey.serapargun2002@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Serap Argun
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Baris
authors.forename: Tugba
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Onyilmaz
authors.forename: Ilknur
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Basyigit
authors.forename: Hasim
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Boyaci
authors.forename: Fusun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yildiz
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*
keywords: COPD; age; exacerbation; hospitalization; smoking