Clinical, functional and imaging characterization of discharged patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Introduction: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a common, preventable and treatable pathology. The prevalence is between 2.5-3.5% of the population in general and rises up to 19% in those over 65 years of age.

Objective: to describe the clinical, functional and imaging characteristics of patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the pneumology service of the Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico “Hermanos Ameijeiras” in the period December 2018 to March 2020.

Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 171 patients discharged for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The variables measured were: age, gender, nutritional evaluation, smoking addiction, occupation, clinical symptoms and signs, classification of the disease according to its spirometric severity and imaging findings.

Results: male patients (56.9%) with ages between 60 and 69 years (26.9%) and normal weight (39.2%) predominated. 64.9% were smokers and 49.1% had exposure to inorganic substances at work. Wet cough (56.14) and grade 3 dyspnea (55.0%) predominated. According to the severity of the disease, the moderate form was the most frequent (46.2%). Regarding the tomographic findings, the emphysematous pattern prevailed in its centrilobular variant (55.6%).

Conclusions: the most obvious clinical manifestations are dyspnea and wet cough. Moderate severity was the most reported spirometric variant and the centrilobular emphysematous pattern was the most evident tomographic finding.