[Reasons for hospitalization in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)]

Reasons for cohort of patients with COPD hospitalisation in a 90-bed internal diseases ward within the 1st January and 31st December 2001 are discussed. Four hundred ten medical histories of COPD patients were analysed. The number of hospitalizations and the number of patients were distinguished. The majority of findings have been related to the number of hospitalizations. Percentage of COPD patients, spirometries and history of smoking have been related to the number of patients. In 12 months, the total number of hospitalizations has been 3,352, including 452 hospitalizations of COPD patients--13.8%. 2,731 patients, including 333 COPD (12.2%) patients, have been hospitalised once or more times. Analysed group included 1,975 female (58.9%) and 1,377 male patients (41.1%), and 225 female (49.8%) and 227 male patients (50.2%) in the COPD group. Average age was 64.8 +/- 16.3 years (men--61.7 +/- 16.4 and women--67.0 +/- 15.8), while average age of COPD patients was 68.8 +/- 10.4 years (men--68.6 +/- 10.2 and women--69.0 +/- 10.7). Average hospitalisation duration was 9.0 +/- 5.7 days, while for COPD patients--10.5 +/- 6.0 days. In this cohort COPD has been the main diagnosis in the 195 hospitalizations. Severity of the disease has been graded according to GOLD and the Polish Phtisiopneumonological Society recommendations. A structure of deaths in COPD group, treatment and history of smoking were analysed.