Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clinical features of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an observational cross-sectional study

The presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and COVID-19 infection is a detrimental combination for patients and can cause negative clinical consequences. The investigation aimed to compare sociodemographic and clinical parameters of COPD individuals hospitalized for exacerbations before and at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. An observational cross-sectional study including 222 patients with COPD was conducted in two stages: a survey and assessment of clinical and laboratory data of patients hospitalized from September 2022 to March 2023 (n=98) and processing of the medical histories of patients with COPD who received hospital treatment in 2017 and 2018 (n=124). A comparative analysis of patients who received inpatient treatment for COPD showed that the frequency of patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) I was half as high after the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas the individuals with GOLD IV were more frequent during the same period (p<0.05). Multiple regression analysis proved the effects of smoking status and previous COVID-19 infection on the health status of patients with COPD according to COPD Assessment Test data (p<0.05). There was an increase in the frequency of comorbid pathologies in the post-COVID period: hypertension, coronary heart disease, gastrointestinal diseases, anemia (p<0.05), and other diseases. This study highlights the significant influence of the COVID-19 infection on people with COPD, which manifested as impaired lung function and an increased incidence of comorbidities.