Viral Profile of COPD Exacerbations According to Patients§

Dimopoulos, G; Tsiodras, S; Lerikou, M; Chranioti, Aik; Perros, E; Anagnostopoulou, U; Karakitsos, P; Armaganidis, A

The infections due a bacterial pathogen were more common in elderly subjects and the hospital stay was lengthier. These patients need more time to recover because of the complexity of COPD ( either a systemic oxidative stress syndrome or an inflammatory process or a combination of those), the weaker immune response as result of the inflammatory process and the frequent colonization by bacteria that lead to bacterial infections or co-infections (viral+bacterial) [22, [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] . This is a main statement in a recently published study where a longer hospital stay in AECOPD patients with co-existed candidiasis, anemia, psychological disorder, atrial fibrillation and congestive heart disease, asthma, respiratory failure and cachexia was detected [24] . We didn't find any difference in the mortality in elderly AECOPD patients with a viral infection compared to the non-elderly although mortality is higher in COPD patients with lung cancer, pulmonary heart disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, osteoporosis and asthma [24] .