International Journal of COPD (Sep 2022)
The Influence of Influenza Virus Infections in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Abstract
Kuang-Ming Liao,1 Yi-Ju Chen,2 Chuan-Wei Shen,2 Shao-Kai Ou,2 Chung-Yu Chen2– 4 1Department of Internal Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Chiali, Taiwan; 2School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 3Department of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 4Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, TaiwanCorrespondence: Chung-Yu Chen, School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, No. 100, Shihcyuan 1st Road, Sanmin District, Kaohsiung City, 80708, Taiwan, Tel +886-7-3121101 ext 2375, Fax +886-7-3210683, Email [email protected]: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease and is preventable and treatable. A previous study showed that influenza virus infections were also associated with the risk of acute exacerbation in patients with COPD, and other studies showed that the influenza virus might increase the risk of stroke. However, studies on the influence of influenza infection among COPD patients are limited. In this study, we review the role of influenza infection in contributing to mortality, pneumonia, respiratory failure, COPD acute exacerbation, and ischemic stroke among COPD patients.Materials and Methods: We performed a population-based cohort study of COPD patients using data from Taiwan between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2019. We excluded patients with lung cancer, lung transplantation and asthma. We also excluded patients who lacked COPD medication prescriptions and those treated with anti-influenza drugs without flu diagnosis records. Patients with missing or incomplete data were also excluded from the study cohort.Results: After 1:1 matching by age, sex, COPD duration, diagnosed years and comorbidities, we enrolled 10,855 cases and controls for further analysis. The risks of pneumonia, respiratory failure, COPD acute exacerbation, and ischemic stroke were 1.770 (95% CI=1.638– 1.860; P< 0.0001), 1.097 (95% CI=1.008– 1.194; P=0.0319), 1.338 (95% CI=1.248– 1.435; P< 0.0001), and 1.134 (95% CI=1.039– 1.239, P=0.0051), respectively, in the influenza infection group compared with COPD patients without influenza infection.Conclusion: Influenza infections are linked to an increased risk of ischemic stroke, pneumonia, respiratory failure, and COPD acute exacerbation among COPD patients. In conclusion, patients with COPD need to be closely monitored after having an influenza infection.Keywords: acute exacerbation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, influenza virus, pneumonia, stroke, respiratory failure
