VITAL PROGNOSIS AFTER HOSPITALIZATION FOR COPD - A STUDY OF A RANDOM-POPULATION SAMPLE

Study aim. To examine survival after admission due to chronic obstruct ive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a population sample over a time span o f 15 years. Design. Linkage between a prospective population cohort an d register information on hospitalization and mortality. Setting. The Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS). Participants. A total of 267 men a nd 220 women who had participated in the CCHS and who were hospitalize d with a discharge diagnosis of COPD (ICD-8 491-2). Main results. The crude 5-yr survival rate after a COPD admission was 45% (37% for men a nd 52% for women). Mortality risk increased with age and with decreasi ng forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)% predicted; for subjects wit h an FEV1 less than or equal to 40% at the CCHS survey, 5-yr survival after subsequent hospitalization was only 28%. Smoking and presence of chronic mucus hypersecretion at the examination in CCHS were not stro ngly associated with prognosis. Survival after admission due to COPD d id not change significantly over time.Conclusions: Compared to previou s studies of COPD patients, the present study indicates that prognosis after hospital admission remains virtually unchanged over the last de cades. FEV1 is still the strongest predictor of survival in this patie nt group.