The Impact of Exacerbations COPD on Respiratory Function and Quality of Life

Introduction Exacerbations of COPD are serious complications occurring at all stages of disease severity. according to COPD severity Patients and methods This is a prospective and observational study of a cohort of COPD patients confirmed by spirometry according to GOLD recommendations, in whom the frequency of exacerbations and its impact on respiratory function and quality of life during a period of 3 consecutive years Results Our study population is composed mainly of men, one hundred and thirty-two against three women with an average age of 61 years. These are 05% stage I COPD, 63.7% stage II, 27.4% stage III and 03% very severe stage. The average frequency of exacerbations in our COPD patients is 2.41 exacerbations per year and it is closely correlated with the stages of severity of the disease ( p : < 0.05). The mean annual decline in FEV1 in frequent exacerbators is 44.41 mL vs 34.22 mL in subjects with rare exacerbations (T: 2.61, p : 0.008). The quality of life attributed by the CAT questionnaire shows a higher score in subjects with frequent exacerbationscompared to those with little known exacerbations with a significant difference ( p : 0.000). Conclusion Exacerbations weigh heavily on the course of the disease: they accelerate the decline in lung function and contribute to the deterioration of quality of life. It is necessary to reduce the frequency and severity of these episodes by smoking cessation and influenza and pneumococcal vaccine therapy.