Association between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Severity of COVID-19 in a Tertiary Care Centre of Pune City, Maharashtra

ABSTRACT

Background: COVID-19 is a global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV2, spreading across every continent in world. The risk of developing severe COVID-19 with underlying disorder like COPD might be higher as compared to patients with no comorbidity. This study was undertaken to assess the association between COPD and severity of COVID-19. Material & Methods: This was a hospital-based cohort study conducted between July to December, 2020. Study subjects were confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to this tertiary care centre and all patients were followed up to final outcome as discharge or death. Depending upon the history of COPD total 113 COVID-19 patients with COPD (exposed) and 339 COVID-19 patients without history of COPD (unexposed) were included in analysis. Statistical analysis was done using logistic regression analysis, and adjusted odd’s ratio with 95% CI were calculated. Results: Age >60 years (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.12–3.30) and breathlessness (OR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.21–4.85) were independent risk factors for mortality in COVID-19 patients. In addition to this, other co-morbidities were associated with mechanical ventilation. On multivariable analyses, COPD was not significantly associated with mortality in COVID-19 (OR 0.93;95% CI 0.15–1.58). Conclusion: Underlying COPD was not an independent risk factor for poor outcome in COVID-19 patients. Copyright (c) 2022 Author(s).