Characteristics of patients with asthma and COPD with and without exposure to ipratropium in the first 90 days following discharge
| COPD | Asthma | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No ipratropium (n = 12 591) | Ipratropium (n = 13 213) | No ipratropium (n = 4012) | Ipratropium (n = 2577) | ||
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 76.2 (7.1) | 75.1 (6.7) | 74.8 (7.3)* | 74.6 (6.8)* | |
| Men | 6852 (54.4%) | 7514 (56.9%) | 1163 (29.0%) | 889 (34.5%) | |
| Charlson index ⩾1 | 5634 (44.8%) | 5715 (43.3%) | 1634 (40.7%) | 1135 (44.0%) | |
| Mean (SD) no. of health service visits and drug usage during year prior to hospital admission: | |||||
| Emergency room | 0.02 (0.17) | 0.05 (0.24) | 0.05 (0.24) | 0.07 (0.28) | |
| Physician's office | 1.47 (1.79) | 2.37 (2.14) | 1.54 (1.80) | 2.36 (2.11) | |
| β2 agonists | 2.27 (2.67) | 3.72 (2.83) | 2.35 (2.62) | 3.63 (2.79) | |
| Inhaled steroids | 1.53 (2.39) | 2.80 (2.93) | 1.78 (2.38) | 3.02 (2.82) | |
| Oral steroids | 0.62 (1.56) | 1.03 (1.89) | 0.78 (1.59) | 1.19 (1.91) | |
| Oral theophyllines | 0.71 (1.96) | 1.17 (2.42) | 0.60 (1.75) | 0.94 (2.12) | |
| Receipt of ⩾1 prescription for other airway medications during 90 days after discharge: | |||||
| β2 agonists | 5270 (41.9%) | 12227 (92.5%) | 2082 (51.9%) | 2342 (90.9%) | |
| Inhaled steroids | 3992 (31.7%) | 8612 (65.2%) | 1912 (47.7%) | 2033 (78.9%) | |
| Oral steroids | 2325 (18.5%) | 5316 (40.2%) | 1135 (28.3%) | 1279 (49.6%) | |
| Oral theophylline | 1387 (11.0%) | 3191 (24.2%) | 471 (11.7%) | 523 (20.3%) | |
All comparisons between users and non-users of ipratropium in COPD and asthma groups are significant at p<0.001 except where indicated. *p = 0.352.