The most consistent risk factor for isolation of P. aeruginosa from sputum of adults with COPD is the presence of more advanced pulmonary disease (eg, FEV-1 <35%-50% of predicted value) or functional impairment (1-5).
Chronic corticosteroid use is also frequently cited as an important predictor of respiratory tract colonization/infection due to P. aeruginosa in patients with COPD, while the data on antibiotic use during the previous months have been conflicting (2,4). Other risk factors may include prior isolation of P. aeruginosa and hospital admission during the previous year (1).
A prospective study of patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbation found P. aeruginosa to be the most frequently isolated organism, growing from 26% of validated sputum samples at initial admission, followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Hemophilus influenzae. In the same study, bronchiectasis (present in up to 50% of patients with COPD) was not shown to be independently associated with the isolation of P. aeruginosa (1).
Of interest, compared to the patients without P. aeruginosa, patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD and isolation of P. aeruginosa from sputum have significantly higher mortality: 33% at 1 year, 48% at 2 years and 59% at 3 years (5).
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References
1. Garcia-Vidal C, Almagro P, Romani V, et al. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbation: a prospective study. Eur Respir J 2009;34:1072-78. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19386694
2. Murphy TF. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Curr Opin Pulm Med 2009;15:138-42. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19532029
3. Miravitlles M, Espinosa C, Fernandez-Laso E, et al. Relationship between bacterial flora in sputum and functional impairment in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD. Chest 1999;116:40-6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10424501
4. Murphy TF, Brauer AL, Eschberger K, et al. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2008;177:853-60. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18202344
5. Almagro P, Silvado M, Garcia-Vidal C, et al. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and mortality after hospital admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Respiration 2012;84:36-43. https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/331224
