Anticoagulation therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the acute exacerbation stage

This aim of this study was to investigate the effects of intervention with low-molecular-weight heparin calcium on the pulmonary function and blood coagulation function of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the acute exacerbation stage. A total of 70 patients with COPD in the acute exacerbation stage were selected and randomly divided into the control group (32 cases) and the anticoagulation group (38 cases). The patients of the control group were treated with oxygen therapy, spasmolysis, asthmarelief, cough relief and sputum reduction. The patients in the anticoagulation group, in addition to the conventional therapy used the control group, were also treated with low-molecular-weight heparin calcium 4100 AXaIU/time. by abdominal subcutaneous injection once every 12 h. For both groups, one treatment course lasted 10 days. The pulmonary function indicators and blood coagulation indicators of the two groups before and after treatment were determined. Following treatment, the pulmonary function and arterial blood gas indicators of the two groups were significantly better than those before treatment, and the extents of the improvements in the anticoagulation group were significantly greater than those in the control group. The D-dimer level and blood coagulation indicators [international normalized ratio (INR), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and fibrinogen (FIB) concentration] of the anticoagulation group were significantly improved compared with those prior to treatment, but there were no significant differences between these measures before and after treatment for patients in the control group. No serious adverse reaction occurred in the anticoagulation group. Although, the conventional therapy was able to improve the overall condition of patients with COPD, it was not able to effectively improve the hypercoagulative state of the patients' blood. The combination of conventional therapy with low-molecular-weight heparin calcium anticoagulation improved the blood coagulation and pulmonary functions of patients.