Clinical characteristics and outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with COPD

Abstract

Introduction: COPD can be more fatal in this in COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of COPD and to investigate the characteristics and prognosis of COPD patients in population infected with SARS-CoV2.

Material-Method: Patients who had the diagnosis of COVID-19 by positive Polymerase Chain Reaction test in oro-nasopharyngeal swab samples were included. Patients with the airway obstruction (FEV1/FVC <70%) in the spirometrics were included in “COPD group”. The symptoms, laboratory and radiological findings, outcomes for patients with and without COPD were compared.

Results: The prevalence of COPD in COVID-19 patients was 4.96% (53/1069). The mortality rate was 13.2% in COPD and 7% in non-COPD patients (p=0.092). The significant predictors of mortality were higher age, hypoxemia (p <0.001) and presence of pneumonia (p=0.043) in COVID-19 patients.

Conclusion: Our research is a multicentered, retrospective cohort study, which is one of the first studies investigating the prevalence and characteristics of COVID-19 patients with COPD in Turkey. There were some demographic, symptomatic, laboratory and radiological differences between COPD and non-COPD COVID-19 patients. Although COPD patients had some poor prognostic features, there was no statistically difference between overall survival rates of COVID-19 patients with or without COPD. Significant predictors of mortality were high age, hypoxemia and presence of pneumonia in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.