Characteristics of patients with severe exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and requiring hospitalisation (n = 40)
| Characteristic | Values |
|---|---|
| FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s as a percentage of predicted; FVC, forced vital capacity as a percentage of predicted; PaCO2, arterial CO2 pressure; PaO2, arterial oxygen pressure. | |
| Values are median (range) or n (%) as appropriate. | |
| *More than 10 mg of prednisolone daily. | |
| Age, years | 69 (43–83) |
| Male | 40 (100) |
| Current smoker | 6 (15) |
| Past smoker | 34 (85) |
| Comorbid conditions | 26 (65) |
| Cardiovascular disease | 21 (52) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 6 (15) |
| Renal failure | 2 (5) |
| Exacerbations in the past year | |
| <4 episodes | 19 (48) |
| >4 episodes | 21 (52) |
| Exacerbation criteria | |
| Increased dyspnoea | 40 (100) |
| Increased sputum volume | 10 (25) |
| Purulent sputum | 22 (55) |
| Fever at admission | 12 (30) |
| Domiciliary oxygen | 10 (25) |
| Oral steroid treatment* | 9 (22) |
| FEV1% predicted | 37 (19–72) |
| FVC% predicted | 69 (64–89) |
| FEV1/FVC% | 42 (34–67) |
| White cell count, ×109/l | 11590 (5100–22700) |
| PaO2, mm Hg | 62 (40–75) |
| PaCO2, mm Hg | 44 (23–62) |