The use of the news in predicting the clinical status of copd patients presenting to the emergency department with a the complaint of dyspnea

Aim: COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a lung disease that causes impairment in quality of life. NEWS (National Early Warning Score) is a scoring system that evaluates patients’ general condition and mortality. We examined the utility of NEWS in predicting the clinical status of COPD patients. Materials and methods: COPD patients admitted to the emergency department were included in the study. Age, gender, comorbid diseases, occupational exposure status, smoking/tobacco intake, hematological and radiological examinations, vital values, and continuous drug use status of the patients were evaluated. The GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale), CCI (Charlson Comorbidity Index), and NEWS values of the patients were calculated. Chi-square, Fisher’s exact, unpaired t-test, or Mann-Whitney U tests were applied according to the normal distribution. Values of p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Of the patients, 82% (n=205) were male, and 18% (n=45) were female. Of the patients, 67% had comorbid diseases. Coronary artery disease was the most common comorbid disease (n=68, 27%). Low saturation, pH, mean blood pressure, low hemoglobin, high CO2, creatinine, urea, CRP, and INR levels were associated with mortality. In non-survival patients, the GCS was low, whereas the CCI and NEWS were high. Conclusions: The NEWS value should be considered in order to determine the clinical status of patients presenting with a COPD attack, to make the decision for hospitalization, and to predict their mortality. Keywords: Emergency department, COPD exacerbation, NEWS, mortality