Clinical and epidemiological characterization of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Caracterización clínica y epidemiológica de la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica

Abstract

Objective: clinical and epidemiological characterization of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study, which included adult patients with a diagnosis of COPD in a university hospital in Medellín. Data sources were secondary, based on medical records. The Jamovi program was used to perform a univariate analysis. Results and discussion: 552 patients were included. Median age was 76 years with a female predominance (56.7%). Regarding exposure to major respiratory toxic substances implicated in the development of the disease, 24.1% were tobacco smokers and 23% were exposed to biomass smoke. At the time of hospital admission,17.9% were classified as having grade 4 dyspnea; 74.1% received short acting beta-agonists and 60% short-acting antimuscarinics,11.6% required intensive care unit or special care unit admission, and 7.8% died in hospital. Conclusions: under-diagnosis of COPD by spirometry may be related to economic, technological, and trained human resource limitations, which affect adequate diagnosis and management of the disease, as well as patient´s quality of life.