Systemic Corticosteroid and Antibiotic Use in Hospitalized Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbation.

A total of 220 patients were included in the systemic corticosteroid cohort. No difference in 30-day readmission rates was demonstrated for the standard (⩽200 mg prednisone equivalents [PEs] for exacerbation course) and high-dose groups (>200 mg PEs; 20.5% vs 13.1%, respectively; P = 0.15). Hospital length of stay (LOS) was significantly shorter for patients prescribed standard-dose therapy (3 days [2-4.5] vs 4 days [2-6]; P < 0.001). A total of 174 patients were included in the antibiotic cohort. For the appropriate and inappropriate antibiotic use groups, no significant differences were observed between 30-day readmission rates (15% vs 18.4%, respectively; P = 0.57) and hospital LOS (4 days [2-5] in both groups; P = 0.97). Conclusion and Relevance: Hospital LOS was shorter for patients prescribed standard-dose systemic corticosteroids; however, no differences in other clinical outcomes were found in either cohort. Use of guideline-recommended systemic corticosteroid and antibiotic therapy is recommended for hospitalized patients with COPD exacerbation.