TY  - INPR
TI  - Understanding the impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations on patient health and quality of life
JF  - European Journal of Internal Medicine
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2019.12.014
N1  - This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
A1  - Hurst, JR
A1  - Skolnik, N
A1  - Hansen, GJ
A1  - Anzueto, A
A1  - Donaldson, GC
A1  - Dransfield, MT
A1  - Varghese, P
Y1  - 2020/01/16/
AV  - public
KW  - Comorbidity
KW  - 
Mental health
KW  - 
Mortality
KW  - 
Physical functional performance
KW  - 
Quality of life
KW  - 
Respiratory function tests
ID  - discovery10090654
N2  - Exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represent a significant clinical problem, and are
associated with decreased lung function, worsening quality of life and decreased physical activity levels, with
even a single exacerbation having detrimental effects. The occurrence of COPD exacerbations can also have a
considerable impact on healthcare costs and mortality rates, with over one-fifth of patients hospitalized for a
COPD exacerbation for the first time dying within one year of discharge. This highlights the need for COPD
exacerbations to be a major focus in clinical practice. Furthermore, the substantial effect that COPD exacerbations can have on patient mental health should not be underestimated. Despite their clinical importance, COPD
exacerbations are poorly recognized and reported by patients, and improving patient understanding and reporting of exacerbations to ensure prompt treatment may minimize their deleterious effects. Renewed focus on
improving current clinical practice with support from evidence-based guidelines is required. This also raises a
challenge to payors, healthcare systems and government policies to do more to tackle the considerable outstanding burden of COPD exacerbations.
ER  -