Relationship between disease severity, smoking index age and direct costs of hospital treatment of COPD exacerbations

The aim of the study was the evaluation of influence of age, intensity of smoking habit and FEV1 value on the costs of inhospital treatment of COPD exacerbations. 71 cases of COPD exacerbation in current smoking males hospitalized in the Military Institute of Health Service in Warsaw were analyzed. The mean age of subjects was 68.8 +/- 9.5, the mean predicted value of FEV1 49.2 +/- 20.2% and the mean period of hospitalization 7.1 +/- 2.9 days. The mean smoking index (expressed in pack-years) was 41.9 +/- 17.7. The mean direct expenditure for treatment of COPD exacerbation per person amounted to PLN 2187.8 +/- 941.6 and included the cost of medical care PLN 1375.9 +/- 573.6, the cost of drugs PLN 393.3 +/- 287.5 and the cost of additional examinations PLN 415.5 +/- 200.4. In statistical analysis, multiple regression model was used and partial correlation coefficients were calculated for significantly different variables. No influence of age and predicted FEV1 value on the costs of COPD exacerbation was found. A significant relationship was found between the smoking index (expressed in pack-years) and disease severity, on the one side, and the direct costs of exacerbation treatment (r=0.281 and r=0.301 respectively, p<0.05). In active smokers male with COPD, smoking index and degree of the disease severity are independent factors, which equally strong determine the direct costs of hospital treatment of COPD exacerbation.