Energy expenditure in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Energy expenditure was studied in ten patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and weight loss, and in five malnourished patients without clinical evidence of COPD (control group) prior to and after a two-week refeeding regimen. Patients received 5 percent dextrose solution (plus electrolytes) for 36 hours to establish standard baseline conditions and were then randomly assigned to either a carbohydrate-based (CB; 53 percent of calories) or fat-based (FB; 55 percent of calories) diet for the first week. The alternate diet was given the following week. Total calorie intake was set at 70 percent above the energy expenditure measured prior to institution of nutritional support. During energy repletion, energy expenditure was greater than predicted (116 percent) in patients with COPD and less than predicted (90 percent) in the control patients. Thermic effect of nutrients during administration of either regimen was significantly greater (p less than .05) in patients with COPD than in those without COPD during both diets. The difference between the two groups was enhanced during the CB regimen. These observations suggest that malnourished patients with COPD have an elevated resting energy expenditure, and an enhanced thermic response to nutrients as compared to malnourished patients without COPD. Increased diet-induced thermogenesis may contribute to weight loss in patients with COPD, in addition to factors previously described such as decreased caloric intake and increased resting energy expenditure.