Clinical features and prognostic analysis of patients with Aspergillus isolation during acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Table 1 Clinical characteristics of patients positive for Aspergillus isolation from LRT specimens

Variables	PA group n = 60	Colonization group n = 15	P value
Age (years, median)	71.5 (31, 93)	75 (49, 89)	0.219
Sex (male), n (%)	54 (90)	14 (93.3)	1.000
GOLD III–IV, n (%)	53 (88.3)	9 (60)	0.018
Corticosteroids before admission, n (%)
Inhaled	45 (75)	9 (60)	0.335
Intravenous or oral	31 (51.7)	3 (20)	0.028
Accumulated dose of systemic steroids > 700 mg^a	11 (18.3)	1 (6.7)	0.439
Broad-spectrum antibiotics before admission^b, n (%)	45 (75)	3 (20)	< 0.001
Hospital stay (days, median)	15.5 (1–72)	15 (7–42)	0.691
ICU admission^c, n (%)	31 (51.7)	3 (20)	0.028
Mechanical ventilation, n (%)	21 (35)	2 (13.3)	0.128
Clinical symptoms, n (%)
Fever^d	39 (65)	4 (26.7)	0.007
Cough	57 (95)	13 (86.7)	0.260
Sputum	43 (71.7)	7 (46.7)	0.066
Hemoptysis	4 (6.7)	2 (13.3)	0.593
Respiratory failure	28 (46.7)	3 (20)	0.061
Comorbidities, n (%)
Bronchiectasis	10 (16.7)	2 (13.3)	1.000
Tuberculosis before	11 (18.3)	3 (20)	1.000
Hypertension	24 (40)	8 (53.3)	0.350
Diabetes mellitus	20 (33.3)	2 (13.3)	0.205
Cardiac insufficiency	20 (33.3)	3 (20)	0.369
Renal insufficiency^e	8 (13.3)	2 (13.3)	1.000
Solid malignant tumor	5 (8.3)	3 (20)	0.193

ICU intensive care unit. ^aDose of systemic steroids in prednisone equivalents before first Aspergillus isolation; ^bthree or more antibiotics in the past 3 months; ^cICU admission at any time during hospitalization; ^dT > 38℃; ^eserum creatinine > 1.5 mg/dL; significance of bold: a P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant

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