Meta-analysis: bacterial infection implicated in 50% of COPD exacerbations

Takeaway

• A meta-analysis finds that bacterial infections are implicated in 49.59% of acute COPD exacerbations.

Why this matters

• This is the first meta-analysis to identify the prevalence of bacterial infections in acute exacerbations.

Study design

• Meta-analysis of 118 studies (n=19,409 patients) after search of PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus.
• Funding: None disclosed.

Key results

• Bacterial infections have a prevalence of 49.59% (95% CI, 44.18%-55%) in acute COPD exacerbations, with high heterogeneity, I²=98.23%.
• The most prevalent bacteria were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, andStaphylococcus aureus.

Limitations

• High heterogeneity.
• No examination of viral infections.