Caracterización general de los pacientes con EPOC de la Región del Maule: resultados preliminares del estudio MaulEPOC

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the epidemiological profile of subjects from the Maule Region (Chile) suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We recruited 127 stable-COPD patients who were attended by a pulmonologist or treated at Hospital Regional de Talca during 2016. All patients underwent lung functional tests and answered a standardized questionnaire to obtain clinical and epidemiological data. Patients were classified according to the GOLD combined COPD assessment criteria, which included symptomatic assessment with the patient's spirometric classification and risk of exacerbations. GOLD A, B, C and D categories consisted of 25%, 33%, 9% and 33% of patients respectively. The mean age was 71.4 years (CI 95% 64.7-73.7) and 56% of the patients were male. A 27% of subjects completed 4 or less years of schooling. 61% of patients showed a significant combined exposure to both cigarette and biomass smoke. COPD patients from the Maule Region are mostly elderly male, often showing a low educational level. The main COPD risk factor in this cohort was the simultaneous exposure to cigarette and biomass smoke. Most patients are in the milder stages of COPD. Our findings identified the main areas that can be intervened to improve COPD management in the Maule Region.