2019 Volume 23 Issue 2 Pages 89-95
Aims: This study aims to investigate the rate of aspiration pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to compare the clinical characteristics of aspiration versus non-aspiration pneumonia in patients with COPD, and to determine factors associated with aspiration pneumonia in these patients.
Methods: We studied the causes of 231 consecutive patients with COPD who were admitted to an acute hospital and calculated the rate of aspiration pneumonia among the 231 patients. There were 178 men and 53 women, and the mean age was 74.5±9.1. In 85 patients among the 231 patients who received a rehabilitation program during hospitalization, we used the following data from medical charts and databases: age, sex, serum albumin, body mass index (BMI), grip strength, gait speed, functional independence measure (FIM), Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) and lung function at discharge. We divided the patients into two groups according to the presence of aspiration pneumonia (aspiration versus nonaspiration pneumonia). Comparable data between the two groups were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test in univariate analysis.
Results: The ratio of aspiration pneumonia was 17 cases (7.4%) among the 231 COPD patients. The ratio of aspiration pneumonia was 16.0% in 85 pneumonia patients and was 26.1% among those in their 80s and 42.9% among those in their 90s. Univariate analysis showed that the aspiration pneumonia group was significantly older than the non-aspiration pneumonia group. BMI, serum albumin, grip strength, gait speed, FIM, and vital capacity were all significantly lower in the aspiration group.
Conclusions: The ratio of aspiration pneumonia in patients with COPD increased with age. The results of the present study suggest that significant factors for aspiration pneumonia in patients with COPD are old age, malnutrition, lower physical function, and reduced lung function.
