eISSN: 2077-9135 / ISSN: 1681-5491
Register
Login
Medical Channel Journal
2025, Volume 31, Issue 1 : 1-8
Research Article
Clinical Characteristics of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations
 ,
 ,
 ,
1
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Central Medical College, New Delhi, India
2
Department of Internal Medicine, Central Medical College, New Delhi, India
3
Department of Community Medicine, Central Medical College, New Delhi, India
4
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Central Medical College, New Delhi, India
Abstract

Background: Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are among the leading causes of hospital admissions, impaired quality of life, accelerated decline in lung function, and mortality. Exacerbations are commonly precipitated by respiratory infections, environmental pollutants, and poor adherence to maintenance therapy. Understanding their clinical characteristics is essential for improving management and patient outcomes.Objective: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, precipitating factors, laboratory findings, treatment modalities, complications, and outcomes of patients hospitalized with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Methods: A hospital-based retrospective observational study was conducted among 240 adult patients admitted with AECOPD over an 18-month period. Demographic characteristics, smoking history, clinical presentation, laboratory investigations, radiological findings, treatment received, complications, and clinical outcomes were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods.Results: The mean age of participants was 65.3 ± 10.8 years, with males accounting for 72.5% of cases. Current or former smoking was documented in 70.4% of patients. Respiratory tract infections (61.7%) were the most common precipitating factor, followed by environmental pollution (18.3%) and medication non-compliance (12.1%). Dyspnea (96.3%), cough (90.8%), increased sputum production (82.1%), and wheezing (78.8%) were the predominant symptoms. ICU admission was required in 19.6% of patients, invasive mechanical ventilation in 10.4%, and in-hospital mortality was 7.9%. Severe airflow limitation, hypercapnia, multilobar pneumonia, and delayed presentation were independent predictors of poor outcomes.Conclusion: Acute COPD exacerbations remain a major cause of hospitalization and mortality. Early recognition, prompt treatment of respiratory infections, smoking cessation, adherence to maintenance therapy, vaccination, and pulmonary rehabilitation are essential for reducing exacerbation frequency and improving patient outcomes.

Keywords
License
Copyright (c) Medical Channel Journal
Creative Commons Attribution License Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All papers should be submitted electronically. All submitted manuscripts must be original work that is not under submission at another journal or under consideration for publication in another form, such as a monograph or chapter of a book. Authors of submitted papers are obligated not to submit their paper for publication elsewhere until an editorial decision is rendered on their submission. Further, authors of accepted papers are prohibited from publishing the results in other publications that appear before the paper is published in the Journal unless they receive approval for doing so from the Editor-In-Chief.
Med. Channel J. open access articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This license lets the audience to give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made and if they remix, transform, or build upon the material, they must distribute contributions under the same license as the original.
Recommended Articles
Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Comprehensive Review
1-7
Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Associated Lifestyle Factors: A Comprehensive Review
1-3
Clinical Profile and Outcomes of Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Review of Current Evidence
1-8
Research Article Title: Mental Health Status among Healthcare Professionals
1-6
Medical Channel Journal
+447480266638
support@medicalchanneljournal.pk
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license. Open Access Publication.
Copyright © ©Medical Channel Journal. All rights reserved.