Stability of the frequent COPD exacerbator in the general population: A Danish nationwide register-based study.

ABSTRACT: Exacerbation frequency is central in treatment strategies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, whether chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients from the general population with frequent exacerbations continue to have frequent exacerbations over an extended period of time is currently unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the stability of the frequent exacerbator in a population-based setting. To this end, we conducted a nationwide register-based descriptive study with a 10-year follow-up period of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with at least one medically treated exacerbation in 2003. Each subsequent year, we divided the population into frequent, infrequent and non-exacerbators and quantified the flow between categories. Further, we estimated

SUBMITTER: Reilev M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5435093 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature