Yield of sputum microbiological examination in patients hospitalized for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with purulent sputum.

Background: Whether sputum microbiological examination should be performed systematically in hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations remains unclear.

Objectives: To assess the yield of sputum microbiological examination in COPD patients hospitalized in a medical ward for an acute exacerbation with purulent sputum.

Methods: Two hundred consecutive exacerbations in 118 patients were studied.