Effectiveness of Empirical Anti-pseudomonal Antibiotics Recurrent COPD Exacerbation: a Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract Although frequent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation has been associated with the isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) in sputum cultures, it remains unknown whether the empirical use of anti-pseudomonal antibiotics can improve outcomes in patients with frequent COPD exacerbations. This multicenter retrospective cohort study evaluated whether the empirical use of anti-pseudomonal antibiotics improves the hospital stay length in patients with recurrent COPD exacerbation (>2 admissions from April 1, 2008 to July 31, 2020). For statistical analysis, a log-linked Gamma model was used. Parameters were estimated using a generalized estimating equation model with an exchangeable correlation structure accounting for repeated observations from a single patient. Covariates included age, body mass index, home oxygen therapy use, respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen use on admission, mental status, systemic steroid use, activities of daily living, and number of recurrences. Hospital-specific effects were specified as fixed effects. In total, 344 patients and 965 observations of recurrent COPD exacerbations were selected. Anti-pseudomonal antibiotics were used in 173 patients (18%). The estimated change in hospital stay length between anti-pseudomonal and non-anti-pseudomonal antibiotics groups was 0.044 days [95% confidence interval; -0.077, 0.166]. Thus, the use of empirical anti-pseudomonal antibiotics based only on recurrence may not be necessary.