Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Impact Of Hypoxia

Hassan Abbas, Amjed

	Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Impact Of Hypoxia
Kerbala Journal of Medicine
Article 1, Volume 7, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 1971-1979 PDF (0 K)
Author
Amjed Hassan Abbas
Abstract
background: Chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) is a major cause of chronic morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Many people suffer from this disease for years and die prematurely from it or its complications. Objective: This study was aimed to:1.Study and compare some demographic and physiological changes in hypoxic and non-hypoxic groups of patients with COPD. 2. Assessment of effect of smoking in both groups. 3. Correlate these findings with severity of the COPD. Patients and method: The study was performed in Merjan Teaching Hospital in Babylon Province in the period from November 2012 to October 2013, the study included one hundred eighty two (182) patients with history of COPD who were studied clinically and each patient was submitted for spirometry, pulse oximetry, chest x-ray and electrocardiography. According to the results of oximeter, patients were divided into two groups, hypoxic and non-hypoxic group, hypoxic group included 96 patients ( mean age was 57.14±11.24, 66% were males) while the non-hypoxic group included 86 patients (mean age was 54.42±12.75, 62% were males). Results & Discussion: Study showed that the mean pack years of tobacco use in hypoxic group was 42.83±47.95 pack years while in non-hypoxic group the mean duration was 24.91±32.84 and there was significant differences between groups (P=0.000),it also revealed that pack year was significantly correlated with the severity of obstruction in hypoxic group (P value= 0.000) in contrast to non-hypoxic group (P value= 0.2). The study also showed significant negative linear relation between degree of dyspnea (functional state) and oxygen saturation (SpO2) (r=-0.2, p=0.04) in reverse to non-hypoxic group (r=-0.11, p=0.3). Furthermore, the study clarified that most patients in both groups had normal ECG changes (73% in hypoxic group and 90% in non-hypoxic group) and the most common ECG finding in both groups was P pulmonale (11% in hypoxic group and 6% in non-hypoxic group). When linear regression analysis of the results of this study was considered, there was significant positive linear correlation between oxygen saturation (SpO2) and severity of obstruction in hypoxic group while non-significant linear correlation between SpO2 and severity of obstruction in non-hypoxic group. Conclusion: From the results of this study, we conclude that lung hypoxia has a relation with severity of obstruction, pack years, functional state and ECG changes. Females were more sensitive to the effects of smoking than males.
Keywords
COPD; hypoxia; pack year; obstruction

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