Tuberc Respir Dis.  2006 May;60(5):510-515.

Cause of Death in COPD Patients of a Referral Hospital

• Kim BJ
• Hong SB
• Shim TS
• Lim CM
• Lee SD
• Koh Y
• Kim WS
• Kim DS
• Kim WD
• Oh YM

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although 17% of Korean adults over the age of 45 years have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there is only limited data on the cause of death in COPD patients in Korea. Therefore, this retrospective study was performed to examine the cause of death in COPD patients at a referral hospital in Korea.
METHODS
The medical records of 28 deceased patients diagnosed as COPD in Asan Medical Center from January to December 2003 were reviewed patients had died in Asan Medical Center and 16 patients had died outside the hospital. The Korean National Statistical Office confirmed 88 deceased patients out of 1,078 patients diagnosed as COPD in Asan Medical Center in 2003. After excluding those with tuberculous destroyed lung, bronchiectasis, and lung cancer, 28 COPD patients were evaluated.
RESULTS
The causes of death were pulmonary disease including pneumonia in 16 patients (57%), cardiac disease in 5 patients (18%), sudden death in 3 patients (11%), and other causes in 4 patients (14%). The cause of death was pulmonary disease in 83% (10 out of 12 patients) and 38% (6 out of 16 patients) of patients who died in Asan Medical Center and outside the center, respectively (P=0.05). The cause of death was pulmonary disease in 43% of patients with FEV1 more than 50 % of the predicted value and in 55% of patients with FEV1 less than 50 % of the predicted value (P=0.89).
CONCLUSION
Pulmonary disease is the leading cause of death in COPD patients in Korea.

Keyword

COPD; Cause; Death

MeSH Terms

Adult
Bronchiectasis
Cause of Death*
Chungcheongnam-do
Death, Sudden
Heart Diseases
Humans
Korea
Lung
Lung Diseases
Lung Neoplasms
Medical Records
Pneumonia
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive*
Referral and Consultation*
Retrospective Studies

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Cause of death in patients with diagnosis of COPD Each bar represents the percentage of each cause of death in the patients who were diagnosed as having COPD in the Asan Medical Center in 2003.

• 

  Figure 2 Cause of death according to death in or outside the Asan Medical Center In AMC represents death in the Asan Medical Center; Outside AMC represents death outside the Asan Medical Center. Numbers on the perimeter of graphs represent the number of death due to each cause. Comparison between death In AMC and death Outside AMC; Fisher's exact test, P=0.05

Reference

1. The Cause of Death Statistics in 2003. Korea National Statistical Office. Available from: URL:www.nso.go.kr.

2. Kim DS, Kim YS, Jung KS, Chang JH, Lim CM, Lee JH, et al. Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Korea: a population-based spirometry survey. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005. 172:842–847.

3. Murray CJL, Lopez AD. Evidence-based health policy: lessons from the Global Burden of Disease Study. Science. 1996. 274:740–743.

4. Lee KY. Epidemiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Tuberc Respir Dis. 2003. 55:333–343.

5. Zielinski J, MacNee W, Wedzicha J, Ambrosino N, Braghiroli A, Dolensky J, et al. Causes of death in patients with COPD and chronic repiratory failure. Monaldi Arch Chest Dis. 1997. 52:43–47.

6. Mannino DM, Bruist AS, Petty TL, Enright PL, Redd SC. Lung function and mortality in the United States: data from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey follow up study. Thorax. 2003. 58:388–393.

7. Mannino DM, Doherty DE, Sonia Buist A. Global Initiative on Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) classification of lung disease and mortality: findings from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Respir Med. 2006. 100:115–122.

8. Morbidity & mortality: 2004 chartbook on cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. 2004. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health;Available from: URL:www.nhlbi.nih.gov.