Does comorbid diabetes mellitus increase length of stay and risk of death in patients admitted with acute exacerbations of COPD?
Comorbid diabetes is associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased mortality in patients admitted for acute exacerbations of COPD.
Taken together with a previous study that revealed a similar trend, our study suggests that comorbid DM prolongs length of stay and increases risk of death in patients with AECOPD. Further studies are now required to elucidate the reasons for these poorer outcomes, in particular whether premorbid glycaemic control or inpatient control is responsible, as these are potentially modifiable factors.
Parappil et al. (Fri,) studied this question.