Bacterial flora in the sputum and comorbidity in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD.

Objective: To determine in patients admitted with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AE-COPD) the association between the isolation of potential pathogens in a conventional sputum culture and comorbidities.

Patients And Methods: The ESMI study is a multicenter observational study. Patients with AE-COPD admitted to the Internal Medicine departments of 70 hospitals were included.

COPD patients with and without metabolic syndrome: clinical and functional differences.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) are considered public health challenges of the 21st century. The coexistence of MetS in COPD patients and any clinical differences between COPD patients with and without MetS have not been extensively studied. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with MetS and COPD.

Comorbidities and short-term prognosis in patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD: the EPOC en Servicios de medicina interna (ESMI) study.

Background: Comorbidities are frequent in patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbation, but little is known about their relation with short-term mortality and hospital readmissions. Our hypothesis is that the frequency and type of comorbidities impair the prognosis within 12 weeks after discharge.

Methods: A longitudinal, observational, multicenter study of patients hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation with spirometric confirmation was performed.