Impact of Comorbid Pathology on the Incidence of Hospitalization in Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

The objective of the work was to define impact of comorbid pathology on the increase of the risk of rehospitalization due to COPD acute exacerbation. Materials and methods. There was carried out retrospective analysis of case histories of patients with COPD exacerbation, hospitalized to the in-patient department over the three years’ period. ?Medical history, results of spirography and general clinical investigations on admission to the in-patient department were studied. Results. All?patients were allocated in?two groups: the first group comprised 112 people (those who have been hospitalized one time) and the second one comprised 19 people (those who have been hospitalized due to COPD exacerbation twice or more times during the three years’ period). It was established that in the group ІІ there were significantly more patients with some or other comorbidity. Cardiovascular pathology, namely ischemic heart disease, was the most prevalent pathology among patients of both (34.82 ± 4.50 and 63.16±11.07 % correspondingly, р = 0.019) groups. Patients of the group ІІ suffered more often from diabetes mellitus (р = 0.039). Conclusions. Prevalent majority of COPD patients, hospitalized due to exacerbation, had at least one more disease. Concomitant cardiovascular pathology was the most prevalent. Presence of even one comorbid state increases the risk of future repeated severe COPD exacerbation, which will require in-patient treatment. Presence of ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus are the gravest among the risk factors of future hospitalizations. It is recommended to record data on existing comorbid pathology into medical documentation of COPD patients.