Exacerbation characteristics (n=217)
| Characteristic description | Results |
| Exacerbation frequency (per patient per year) | 1.8 (1.2) |
| Patients with | |
| 1 exacerbation | 67 (56.3) |
| 2 exacerbations | 24 (20.2) |
| 3 exacerbations | 17 (14.3) |
| 4 or more exacerbations | 11 (9.2) |
| Exacerbation symptoms | |
| Increase in dyspnoea and sputum, change in sputum colour | 136 (32.7) |
| Increase in dyspnoea and sputum | 30 (13.8) |
| Increase in sputum and change in sputum colour | 19 (8.8) |
| Increase in dyspnoea and change in sputum colour | 32 (14.7) |
| Exacerbation total recovery time, days | 14.0 (9.4) |
| Treated recovery time, days | 11.6 (7.9) |
| Exacerbations with unscheduled healthcare utilisation* | |
| Total | 107 (50.5) |
| Unscheduled doctor visit | 70 (33.0) |
| ER | 20 (9.4) |
| ER + hospital admission | 17 (8.0) |
Data are expressed as mean (SD) for continuous variables or number (%) for categorical variables.
↵* Five exacerbations were excluded due to missing data concerning the use of unscheduled healthcare services.
ER, emergency room.