COTE and Pulmonary Comorbidities Predict Moderate-to-Severe Acute Exacerbation and Hospitalization in COPD

The aim of this study was to explore the predictive value of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) specific comorbidity test index (COTE) and pulmonary comorbidities for moderate-to-severe acute exacerbation and hospitalization in COPD patients.

This was a retrospective cohort study. We included 470 patients with stable COPD. Patients were divided into high or low-risk comorbidity group according to whether COTE score ≥4, and pulmonary comorbidities and extrapulmonary comorbidities group according to comorbidity origin. Moderate-to-severe acute exacerbation events and other clinical parameters were compared between groups. Multifactorial analysis and Lasso regression were used to screen risk factors and establish predictive models for moderate-to-severe acute exacerbation and hospitalization. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the value COTE score and pulmonary comorbidities in predicting moderate-to-severe acute exacerbation and hospitalization.

When compared with the low-risk comorbidity and extrapulmonary comorbidities group, the rate of patients with ≥2 moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations and requiring hospitalization due to acute exacerbations is higher in high-risk comorbidity and pulmonary comorbidities group (χ²=18.45, χ²=40.15, χ²=8.82, χ²=23.68). Multifactorial analysis showed that comorbid with asthma, lung cancer were risk factors for moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations, while asthma, bronchiectasis, lung cancer, and high COTE score were risk factors for patients requiring hospitalization due to acute exacerbations. The AUC for COTE > 5.5 and a combination of at least one pulmonary comorbidity as potential indication of moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations of COPD and hospitalization due to acute exacerbations was 0.667 (95% CI: 0.615, 0.719) and 0.740 (95% CI: 0.688, 0.792), respectively. The prediction models including COTE and pulmonary comorbidities can predict moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations (internal validation of AUC: 0.984, 95CI%: 0.964-1) and hospitalization (internal validation of AUC: 0.978, 95CI%: 0.959-0.998) of COPD.

COTE score and a combination of at least one pulmonary disease can predict the risk of moderate-to-severe acute exacerbations and hospitalization due to acute exacerbations in patients with COPD.