Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection increases the readmission rate of COPD patients

Choi, Juwhan; Oh, Jee Youn; Lee, Young Seok; Hur, Gyu Young; Lee, Sung Yong; Shim, Jae Jeong; Kang, Kyung Ho; Min, Kyung Hoon

We classified AECOPD events as only bacterial pathogen identification, only viral pathogen identification, bacterialviral coidentification, and no pathogen identification. A bacterial or viral infection was identified in 60% of events. Before propensity score matching, the only bacterial pathogen identification rate was significantly greater in the readmission group (P=0.003); after matching, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.063). There were no significant differences for the other variables. We also analyzed the most frequently identified infectious bacteria and viruses in severe AECOPD. The three most commonly identified bacteria were P. aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae; the three most commonly identified viruses were influenza virus, rhinovirus, and parainfluenza virus. Before propensity score matching, the P. aeruginosa identification rate was significantly greater in the readmission group than in the no-readmission group (P=0.007); there were no significant differences in identification rates for the other bacteria or viruses. After matching, the P. aeruginosa identification rate remained significantly Table 3 shows detailed microbiological data for the two groups before and after propensity score matching.