Economic and operational burden associated with malnutrition in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Malnutrition is common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to explore its association with all-cause mortality, emergency hospitalisation and subsequently healthcare costs.

A prospective cohort observational pilot study was carried out in outpatients with COPD that attended routine respiratory clinics at a large tertiary Australian hospital during 2011. Electronic hospital records and hospital coding was used to determine nutritional status and whether a patient was coded as nourished or malnourished and information on healthcare use and 1-year mortality was recorded.

Eight hundred and thirty four patients with COPD attended clinics during 2011, of those 286 went on to be hospitalised during the 12 month follow-up period. Malnourished patients had a significantly higher 1-year mortality (27.7% vs. 12.1%; p = 0.001) and were hospitalised more frequently (1.11 SD 1.24 vs. 1.51 SD 1.43; p = 0.051). Only malnutrition (OR 0.36 95% CI 0.14-0.91; p = 0.032) and emergency hospitalisation rate (OR 1.58 95% CI 1.2-2.1; p = 0.001) were independently associated with 1-year mortality. Length of hospital stay was almost twice the duration in those coded for malnutrition (11.57 SD 10.93 days vs. 6.67 SD 10.2 days; p = 0.003) and at almost double the cost (AUD $23,652 SD $26,472 vs. $12,362 SD $21,865; p = 0.002) than those who were well-nourished.

Malnutrition is an independent predictor of 1-year mortality and healthcare use in patients with COPD. Malnourished patients with COPD present both an economic and operational burden.