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Antibiotic Prevention Of Acute Exacerbations Of Copd, Richard P. Wenzel, Alpha A. Fowler, Michael B. Edmond

VCU Health Publications

An estimated 24 million persons in the United States have COPD on the basis of lung-function testing.1 Globally, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death,2 and in the United States it is the third most common cause of death and chronic complications.3 The average person with COPD has one to two acute exacerbations each year, with wide variation from patient to patient.4 In 2000 in the United States, 726,000 patients were hospitalized with acute exacerbations of COPD.1 During an acute exacerbation, antibiotics are generally administered for 5 to 10 days,5 creating a national burden of 120 million to 480 …