The prevalence of comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among patients hospitalized with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is actually lower than its presence in the general population, according to a new observational cohort analysis.<\/p>\n
In new data presented online during the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) 2020 Annual Meeting this week, investigators reported just 1 in 20 observed patients hospitalized with COVID-19 suffered from COPDversus significantly greater rates of cardiometabolic disease among the most severely ill patients.<\/p>\n
Study authors Vikramaditya Samala Venkata, MD, and Gerard N. Kiernan, MD, both of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, conducted a systematic electronic search-based assessment of COVID-19 clinical trials to define associations between baseline COPD and overall outcomes of hospitalized patients.<\/p>\n
Current understanding of such associations is not yet comprehensive, but nonetheless troubling given the respiratory burden of the pandemic virus.<\/p>\n
Although clinical data is limited, studies published so far raise concerns about an association between COPD and worse clinical outcomes in COVID-19, they wrote.<\/p>\n
The systematic search included retrospective studies including original hospitalized COVID-19 patient data from any of 3 major databases. Venkata and Kiernan used pooled analysis with a random-effects model in order to interpret the associations between COPD and COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Their analyses included 22 studies from 8 countries including 11,000-plus patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Mean patient age was 56 years old, with 58% reported as male.<\/p>\n
Among all comorbidities, hypertension was the most prevalent in hospitalized patients, at 42%. Another 23% of patients had diabetes mellitus.<\/p>\n
Investigators observed a COPD prevalence rate of just 5% (n = 437) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. However, such patients faced a three-fold greater risk of mortality (odds ratio [OR], 3.23; 95% CI, 1.59 6.57; P <.05). They noted the global prevalence of COPD among patients >40 years old is approximately 9%.<\/p>\n
One explanation may be precautions put in place by COPD patients and their friends, family, and neighbors to limit their risk of COVID-19 exposure, given fears of more severe disease risks for such patients.<\/p>\n
While one would expect patients with prior lung disease to have greater mortality with COVID-19, it is curious to see that the prevalence of COPD was lower than the general population may reflect greater measures taken by COPD patients to avoid coronavirus exposure, investigators wrote.<\/p>\n
Uniquely, Venkata and Kiernan also found that smoking was present in more than one-third (37%) of COVID-19 patientsyet patients who smoked faced only a 52% worsened risk of disease severity (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 0.81 2.87; P = .20). Reasoning for a mixed association, they noted, is still unclear.<\/p>\n
Investigators concluded that more randomized trials are necessary to understand relationships between COPD, smoking status, and hospitalized COVID-19 prognosis in patients.<\/p>\n
This will alert clinicians to the worse prognosis of COVID-19 infection in patients with history of COPD and it will raise a question for future studies to look at the association between baseline COPD and COVID-19, they concluded.<\/p>\n
The study, COVID-19 and COPD: Pooled Analysis of Observational Studies, was presented at CHEST 2020.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
More here: <\/p>\n
COPD Linked to Three-Fold Greater Mortality Risk in Severe COVID-19 Patients - MD Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The prevalence of comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among patients hospitalized with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is actually lower than its presence in the general population, according to a new observational cohort analysis. Continue reading