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. 2023 Feb 17;59(2):391.
doi: 10.3390/medicina59020391.

The Relationship between Exertional Desaturation and Pulmonary Function, Exercise Capacity, or Medical Costs in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Meng-Lin Tsai  1 , Chin-Ling Li  2 , Hui-Chuan Chang  2 , Yuh-Chyn Tsai  2 , Ching-Wan Tseng  2 , Shih-Feng Liu  1   2   3
Affiliations

The Relationship between Exertional Desaturation and Pulmonary Function, Exercise Capacity, or Medical Costs in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Meng-Lin Tsai et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Exertional desaturation (ED) is common and is associated with poorer clinical outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The age, dyspnea, airflow obstruction (ADO) and body mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise (BODE) indexes are used to predict the prognosis of COPD patients. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between these indexes, pulmonary function, medical costs, and ED in COPD patients. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from the electronic database of the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. This retrospective study included 396 patients categorized as either ED (n = 231) or non-ED (n = 165). Variables (including age, smoking history, body mass index (BMI), pulmonary function test, maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), six minutes walking test distance (6MWD), SpO2, COPD Assessment Test (CAT) score, ADO index, BODE index, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), and medical costs) were compared between the two groups, and their correlations were assessed. ED was defined as SpO2 less than 90% or SpO2 decrease of more than 4% compared to baseline levels during 6MWT. Results: A significant statistical difference was found regarding a lower score of the ADO index and the BODE index (both p < 0.001), better pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), p < 0.001; FEV1/ forced vital capacity (FVC), p < 0.001; diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), p < 0.001), and higher minimal oxygen saturation (p < 0.001) in non-ED COPD patients. No difference was found in the distance of the 6MWT (p = 0.825) and respiratory muscle strength (MIP; MEP, p = 0.86; 0.751). However, the adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only SpO2 (minimal) had a significant difference between of the ED and non-ED group (p < 0.001). There was either no difference in the medical expenses between ED and non-ED COPD patients. Conclusions: SpO2 (minimal) during the 6MWT is the independent factor for ED. ED is related to BODE and ADO indices, but is not related to medical expense.

Keywords: ADO index; BODE index; COPD; exertional desaturation; medical costs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of studied patient selection. Abbreviations: 6MWD, six minutes walking test distance; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1st second; FVC, forced vital capacity; ED, Exertional desaturation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The difference of ADO index and BODE index between ED group and non-ED group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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