Exacerbation characteristics
| Overall study cohort | Thrombocytopenia | Thrombocytosis | Normal platelets | p Value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physiological markers of exacerbation severity | |||||
| New onset confusion | 161 (12) | 5 (12.8%) | 18 (12) | 138 (12) | 0.967 |
| Heart rate (beats per minute) (median and IQR) | 100 (90–120) | 105 (96–120) | 100 (90–114) | 100 (90–120) | 0.468 |
| Respiratory rate (breaths per minute) (median and IQR) | 24 (20–30) | 22 (16–30) | 24 (20–30) | 24 (20–31) | 0.554 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) (median and IQR) | 122 (105–140) | 113 (100–134) | 123 (108–140) | 121 (105–141) | 0.187 |
| Temperature (°C) (median and IQR) | 37 (36.8–37.9) | 37 (36.9–38.0) | 37 (36.7–37.5) | 37 (36.8–37.7) | 0.204 |
| Laboratory results | |||||
| White blood cell count (×109 cells/mm3) (median and IQR) | 13.6 (10–17.8) | 11.5 (8.2–15.4) | 16.2 (11.9–20.9) | 13.7 (10.1–17.8) | <0.0001 |
| C reactive protein (mg/L) (median and IQR) N=913 | 38 (13–74) | 27 (4–87) | 41 (21–81) | 38 (13–74) | 0.355 |
| Urea (mmol/L) (median and IQR) | 7.3 (5–10.6) | 7.5 (4.6–10.9) | 6.4 (4.7–10.2) | 7.3 (5.1–10.6) | 0.601 |
| Acidosis (arterial pH <7.35) | 207 (15) | 6 (15) | 35 (22) | 166 (14) | 0.039 |
| Glucose (mmol/L) (median and IQR) N=1105 | 6.8 (5.7–8.4) | 6.3 (5.7–8.4) | 6.7 (5.4–8.1) | 6.9 (5.8–8.5) | 0.276 |
| Albumin (g/dl) | 37 (33–40) | 37 (33–39) | 34 (31–38) | 37 (33–40) | <0.0001 |
| pCO2 (kPa) (median and IQR) N=1046 | 5.8 (4.9–6.7) | 5.3 (4.2–7.0) | 6.5 (5.4–8.4) | 5.7 (4.9–6.6) | 0.120 |
| p02 To Fi02 ratio approximation (median and IQR) | 278 (218–315) | 275 (254–307) | 265 (192–313) | 281 (220–318) | 0.096 |
| Treatment | |||||
| Preadmission antibiotics | 226 (17) | 5 (13) | 21 (13) | 200 (17) | 0.352 |
| Preadmission corticosteroids | 228 (17) | 9 (23) | 24 (15) | 195 (17) | 0.510 |
| Nebulised bronchodilators | 1343 (100) | 39 (100) | 157 (100) | 1147 (100) | 1.000 |
| Oral corticosteroids | 1316 (98) | 37 (95) | 157 (100) | 1122 (98) | 0.070 |
| Antibiotics | 1121 (83) | 36 (92) | 139 (89) | 946 (86) | 0.051 |
| Intravenous aminophylline | 148 (11) | 3 (8) | 24 (15) | 121 (11) | 0.164 |
| Bilevel ventilation | 123 (9) | 3 (8) | 23 (15) | 97 (9) | 0.039 |
Markers of exacerbation severity in patients with and without thrombocytosis. Values are N (%) unless indicated otherwise.
*p Values refer to comparison across three groups (thrombocytopenia, thrombocytosis and normal platelet count) by Kruskal–Wallis test.