Demographics, cardiopulmonary comorbidities, laboratory data and length of hospital stay in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at high altitude: A comparative study

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is known to impose a significant burden on patients, but its demographic and clinical features in patients with AECOPD at high altitude (HA) still need to be addressed. A total of 142 patients with AECOPD at HA [>2,500 meters (m)] and 142 patients with AECOPD at low altitude (LA) (<500 m) as controls, matched 1:1 by age and sex, encountered at West China Hospital of Sichuan University (Chengdu, China) between January 2023 and December 2023, were retrospectively analyzed. Demographics, cardiopulmonary comorbidities, laboratory data and length of hospital stay (LOHS) of patients with AECOPD at HA and LA were comparatively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with prolonged LOHS in patients with AECOPD at HA. Compared to the LA group, patients with AECOPD at HA, regardless of sex and age, demonstrate certain different demographic and clinical features, including more Tibetans and non‑smokers, different prevalences of cardiopulmonary comorbidities and indicators in blood routine and biochemical tests, particularly higher hemoglobin levels and eosinophils count, which were negatively associated with LOHS. The present findings highlight that these differences could play an important role in the evaluation and prognosis of AECOPD at HA, and future studies should investigate the mechanisms underlying these differences and explore novel interventions to improve clinical outcomes for patients with AECOPD at HA.

This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit: