Seasonality, risk factors and burden of community-acquired pneumonia in COPD patients: a population database study using linked health care records.

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is more common in patients with COPD than in the adult general population, with studies of hospitalized CAP patients consistently reporting COPD as a frequent comorbidity. However, despite an increasing recognition of its importance, large studies evaluating the incidence patterns over time, risk factors and burden of CAP in COPD are currently lacking.

Methods: A retrospective observational study using a large UK-based database of linked primary and secondary care records was conducted.