ABSTRACT
Objective@#To analyze characteristics of virus infections in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to analyze the role of virus infection in acute exacerbations of COPD.@*Methods@#Totally 193 patients of COPD with acute exacerbations admitted to the Hospital of Sichuan Provincial Armed Police Force from April 2015 to March 2016 were enrolled as group A, and 50 patients of COPD in stable stage in the same period were enrolled as group B. IgM antibodies to respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, parainfluenza virus, influenza A virus, and influenza B virus in two groups were detected. General conditions and total virus infection rate were analyzed. Infection rates of each virus in group A were calculated. Proportion of single virus infection, two virus infections and several virus infections in group A with virus infection were calculated. Virus infection rates in different seasons in group A were also analyzed.@*Results@#There was no significant difference in age, sex, and course of disease between the two groups(P>0.05). The virus infection rate of group A was 13.47%, which was higher than that of group B(χ2=5.29, P<0.05). The most common virus found in group A was influenza B virus(infection rate 12.44%), followed by influenza A virus(infection rate 7.78%), parainfluenza virus(infection rate 7.25%), adenovirus(infection rate 2.63%), respiratory syncytial virus(infection rate 1.32%). Single virus infection accounted for 34.6% of acute exacerbation COPD patients with virus infection, and two virus infections accounted for 15.4%, and three or more virus infections accounted for 50%. Virus infection rate in summer and autumn were higher than that in winter and spring, but the differences were not statistically significant(P>0.05).@*Conclusions@#This study showed that 14.37% of patients with acute exacerbations of COPD had viral infections, and most of them were infected with two or more viruses. Virus infection may play an important role in the acute exacerbation of COPD, and we need to pay attention to the prevention and treatment of virus infection in patients with COPD.