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Table 1 Baseline values for all patients (n = 9)

From: Effect of a 14-day course of systemic corticosteroids on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Baseline characteristics

 

   Gender (female/male)

3/6

   Age (years)*

72 (51–86)

   Body-mass index (kg/m 2)*

25.9 (24.7–33.7)

   Smoking (pack years)*

30 (25–50)

   Duration of COPD (years)*

2.0 (1–4)

   Number of AECOPD in previous year*

1 (1–2)

   Duration of AECOPD (days)

4 (4–7)

   Dyspnea (%)

9 (100%)

   Cough (%)

9 (100%)

   Increased sputum production (%)

9 (100%)

   Discoloured sputum (%)

7 (78%)

   Fever (%)

7 (78%)

   Maintenance therapy at admission (%)

 

β2-agonist and/or anticholinergic

7 (78%)

Inhaled corticosteroids

4 (44%)

Oral corticosteroids

0 (0%)

Theophyllin

0 (0%)

Long-term oxygen therapy

1 (11%)

   Severity of AECOPD – Anthonisen's criteria [8] (%)

 

1

0 (0%)

2

2 (22%)

3

7 (78%)

   Heart rate* (beats/min)

84 (70–101)

   Blood pressure* (mmHg)

 

   Systolic

143 (120–150)

   Diastolic

80 (69–85)

   Respiratory rate*

16 (12–25)

Laboratory findings:

 

   Leukocytes total*

9.3 (7.7–10.1)

   CRP (mg/dl)*

19 (6–61)

   Cortisol basal (nmol/l)**

439 (392–462)

   Cortisol after 1 μg ACTH (nmol/l)**

712 (608–730)

   Basal ACTH (ng/l)**

9.2 (5.1–11.5)

  1. * median, interquartile range;