Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke Following Exacerbation of COPD
Transcription
Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke Following Exacerbation of COPD
Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke Following Exacerbation of COPD Gavin C. Donaldson, John R. Hurst, Christopher J. Smith, Richard B. Hubbard and Jadwiga A. Wedzicha Chest 2010;137;1091-1097; Prepublished online December 18, 2009; DOI 10.1378/chest.09-2029 The online version of this article, along with updated information and services can be found online on the World Wide Web at: http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/137/5/1091.full.html Supplemental material related to this article is available at: http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/suppl/2010/05/04/chest.09-202 9.DC1.html Chest is the official journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. It has been published monthly since 1935. Copyright2010by the American College of Chest Physicians, 3300 Dundee Road, Northbrook, IL 60062. All rights reserved. No part of this article or PDF may be reproduced or distributed without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. (http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/site/misc/reprints.xhtml) ISSN:0012-3692 Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians CHEST Original Research COPD Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke Following Exacerbation of COPD Gavin C. Donaldson, PhD; John R. Hurst, PhD; Christopher J. Smith, BA; Richard B. Hubbard, DM; and Jadwiga A. Wedzicha, MD Objective: Patients with COPD are at risk for cardiovascular events. This is attributed to increased systemic inflammation. The course of COPD is punctuated by exacerbations, which further increase systemic inflammation, but the risk of vascular events in the postexacerbation period has never been defined. Methods: We analyzed data from 25,857 patients with COPD entered in The Health Improvement Network database over a 2-year period. Exacerbations were defined using a health-care use definition of prescription of oral corticosteroids . 20 mg/d and/or selected oral antibiotics. The risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke in the postexacerbation period was calculated relative to the patient’s baseline risk using the self-controlled case series approach. Results: We identified 524 MIs in 426 patients and 633 ischemic strokes in 482 patients. The incidence rates of MI and stroke were 1.1 and 1.4 per 100 patient-years, respectively. There was a 2.27-fold (95% CI, 1.1-4.7; P 5 .03) increased risk of MI 1 to 5 days after exacerbation (defined by prescription of both steroids and antibiotics). This relative risk diminished progressively with time and was not significantly different from the baseline MI risk at any other postexacerbation time interval. One in 2,513 exacerbations was associated with MI within 1 to 5 days. There was a 1.26-fold (95% CI, 1.0-1.6; P 5 .05) increased risk of stroke 1 to 49 days after exacerbation. Conclusion: The results suggest that exacerbations of COPD increase the risk of MI and stroke. This may have implications for therapy in both stable and exacerbated COPD. CHEST 2010; 137(5):1091–1097 Abbreviations: GPRD 5 General Practice Research Database; IQR 5 interquartile range; IRR 5 incidence rate ratio; MI 5 myocardial infarction; THIN 5 The Health Improvement Network will be the third leading cause of death by COPD 2020. People with COPD are at increased risk of 1 acute cardiovascular events,2-4 and about 30% die of cardiovascular disease.5,6 Some of this increase in risk Manuscript received August 27, 2009; revision accepted November 23, 2009. Affiliations: From the Academic Unit of Respiratory Medicine (Drs Donaldson, Hurst, and Wedzicha), University College London, London; and the Division of Epidemiology and Public Health (Mr Smith, Dr Hubbard), University of Nottingham, Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham, England. Funding/Support: This study was funded by the British Lung Foundation. Correspondence to: Jadwiga A. Wedzicha, MD, Academic Unit of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London, Rowland Hill Street, London, NW3 2PF, England; e-mail: j.a.wedzicha@medsch. ucl.ac.uk © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians. Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the American College of Chest Physicians (www.chestpubs.org/ site/misc/reprints.xhtml). DOI: 10.1378/chest.09-2029 www.chestpubs.org is likely to come from shared risk factors, such as smoking, but the increased systemic inflammation associated with acute exacerbations could be an additional risk factor. If so, management of COPD exacerbations should include strategies to reduce this additional risk. Exacerbations are important events in the natural history of COPD. Patients experiencing frequent exacerbations have a faster rate of decline in lung function,7 impaired health-related quality of life,8 reduced daily activity,9 increased airway inflammation10,11 and greater mortality.12 Most COPD exacerbations are due to lower respiratory tract infections13,14 that are associated with an acute phase response with an increase in systemic inflammatory markers, such as fibrinogen and interleukin-6.15 Increased levels of these markers in the blood have been associated directly or indirectly with an increased risk of thrombus formation and cardiovascular CHEST / 137 / 5 / MAY, 2010 Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 1091 events.16-18 Previous self- and case-controlled epidemiologic studies have found an association between respiratory infection and cardiovascular events in the general population.19,20 However, it is possible that this association may differ in patients with COPD who already have increased systemic inflammation, and in whom respiratory infections are common and known to cause marked morbidity and mortality. We therefore carried out a self-controlled case series study to assess the magnitude and timing of the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic cerebrovascular (stroke) events following an exacerbation of COPD. Knowledge of these risks would inform rational drug prescribing for prevention of cardiovascular disease, not only at exacerbation but also in stable COPD. Materials and Methods We examined The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database, which contains anonymized medical records of primary care practices in England and Wales. The database is comparable to the General Practice Research Database (GPRD)21 and the prevalence, demographics, smoking habits, and mortality of patients with COPD in THIN match other national data.22 The study had approval from the Nottingham Research Ethics committee. The main analysis used the self-controlled case series approach. This involved comparing the incidence of MI or stroke events during “high-risk” periods, immediately postexacerbation, against the incidence in the remaining “low-risk” periods when the patient was stable (exacerbation-free) (see Fig 1). Thus, each patient acts as his or her own control, so avoiding the need for multivariate analysis to adjust for confounders such as socioeconomic background or family history.23 The 2-year observation period was from February 25, 2003, to February 24, 2005. No practices stopped contributing data during this period. Patient Selection All patients permanently registered to a practice on February 25, 2003, with a physician diagnosis of COPD were identified using a list of Quality and Outcomes Framework codes for COPD, and the prevalence matched other estimates of demographics and smoking habits of patients with COPD.22 Those with an MI were identified by a Read code, chosen a priori, for acute or subsequent MI (see online supplement for list of codes). Read and Quality and Outcomes Framework codes describe medical diagnoses and are well-validated for use in UK administrative databases. One patient was excluded from the analysis as the MI was recorded as having occurred after they transferred out of the practice and, thus, treatment prior to the MI might not have been recorded. A second analogous set of cases were a priori selected with the diagnosis of a stroke (cerebral infarction, cerebral thrombosis, and transient ischemic attack) (see online supplement). Cerebral hemorrhage was excluded. The diagnosis of MI and stroke in THIN has been validated by reproducing established associations with other diseases and drugs.21 Approximately half the practices contributing to THIN also supply the GPRD. Several studies have confirmed the validity of the diagnostic and prescription data in the GPRD,24,25 particularly for MI and strokes.26 Exacerbation Definitions Exacerbations were defined, a priori, in three ways: (1) a prescription of oral steroids (except fludrocortisone), (2) a prescription of preselected oral antibiotics commonly used in treating exacerbations (see online supplement for list), and (3) prescription of oral steroids and a preselected oral antibiotic. Courses of oral steroids , 20 mg/d were excluded to avoid falsely identifying exacerbations when the patient was on low-dose maintenance steroid therapy. Antibiotics had to be orally delivered and used in treating respiratory infections. They included penicillins, cephalosporins, tetracyclines, macrolides, sulfonamides, and quinolones. Medical diagnostic codes for acute exacerbations were not reliable (incidence 0.22/y) reflecting the frequent use of chronic disease codes at acute events requiring prescription of antibiotics and steroids. Hospital Admission Hospital admissions occurring 1 to 5 days postexacerbation were identified by Read codes. These codes were 8H2.0.00 (emergency hospital admission), 8Hd.0.00 (admission to hospital), and 66Ye.00 (emergency COPD admission since last appointment). Analysis Fixed-effects conditional Poisson regression was used to estimate the incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and performed with Stata 8.2 (StataCorp; College Station, TX). The natural logarithm of the duration of each high-risk or low-risk period was used as the exposure time. Allowance was made for seasonality in both cardiovascular events and exacerbations, with 3-month-long seasons starting December 1, 2002.27 We have previously reported that fibrinogen and interleukin-6 return to stable (preexacerbation) levels within 4 to 8 weeks following an exacerbation.15 We therefore conservatively defined, a priori, the high-risk period as 7 weeks long. The period started 1 day after the exacerbation to avoid as much as practical the misdiagnosis of ischemic events as COPD exacerbations.19 We also examined the time-course of risk by dividing the 7-week period into days 1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 15, and 16 to 49, with the short early intervals chosen to match the first three intervals used by Meier et al.20 High-risk periods due to exacerbations starting in the 49-day period before the start of the study’s observation period were also included in the analysis. Figure 1. Hypothetical timeline for a patient with COPD experiencing two exacerbations and two myocardial infarctions (MI), the first of which occurs in the low-risk period and the second during the high-risk 1- to 5-day period postexacerbation. 1092 Original Research Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians Relationship Between MI and Exacerbation Frequency For each of the three definitions, we calculated the number of exacerbations per year experienced by each patient. Their association with the annual incidence of MI was tested with a Spearman rank correlation. The data are presented in line with the recent Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement on the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology.28 Results MI and Stroke Incidence Rates Table 1 reports the total number of patients with COPD and the number experiencing an MI or stroke. There were 25,857 patients with COPD in 277 practices at the start of the observation period. Over the subsequent 2 years, these patients were alive and in contributing practices for 16,874,379 days (average 1.79 years per patient). For all patients with COPD, the incidence rate of MI events was 1.1 per 100 patientyears and for stroke events, 1.4 per 100 patient-years. Number and Annual Rates of Exacerbations Table 2 shows the number and incidence rates of exacerbations defined by drug treatment. Exacerbation rates were significantly (all P , .005) higher in patients experiencing MI compared with those without MI. For patients who experienced a stroke compared with those who did not, the annual rate of exacerbations defined by courses of steroids was also significantly higher (P , .01), but not for treatment with antibiotics or antibiotics combined with oral steroids. Regarding exacerbation severity, in patients with MI, 12 exacerbations (0.7% of 1,737) defined by antibiotics were followed by hospital admission within 1 to 5 days. Hospitalization occurred in 0.7% (6 of 858) of exacerbations defined by steroids and 1.3% (5 of 387) by steroids and antibiotics combined. For patients with stroke, these percentages were 0.6%, 0.3%, and 0.6% for antibiotics, steroids, and antibiotics combined with steroids, respectively. Characteristics of Patients With an MI Of the 426 patients who had an MI during the observation period, 346 patients had one MI and 80 patients had . 1 MI. Forty-nine of these patients had a previous MI and 27 patients had . 1 MI prior to the observation period. One hundred twenty-seven of them died (29.8%) within the 2-year observation period, and 17 transferred to another practice. The average length of follow-up was 1.698 (SD 0.53) years. The median age was 74 years (interquartile range [IQR], 67-80; range 43-93). Two hundred fifty-eight were men (60.6%). It was possible to calculate the FEV1, measured during or within 1 year of the start of the study, as a percentage of that predicted from age, height, and sex, for 101/426 patients (23.7%). The median FEV1% predicted was 55.9% (IQR, 43-73). Characteristics of Patients With a Stroke Of the 482 patients who had a stroke, 369 patients had one stroke and 113 had . 1 stroke. Fifty-three patients had one stroke and 36 patients had . 1 stroke prior to the observation period. One hundred thirty-two of them died (27.3%) within the 2-year period, and 36 transferred to another practice. The average follow-up was 1.674 (SD 0.55) years. The median age was 77 years (IQR, 69-82; range 38-101). Two hundred seventy-nine were men (57.9%). The median FEV1% predicted was 55.8% (IQR, 44-69; N 5 93). Exacerbations and Risk of MI Table 3 gives the IRRs from the Poisson regression analysis of the high-risk period of 1 to 49 days. There was no overall increased risk of MI with any exacerbation definition, and there was a significant association between the prescription of antibiotics and stroke (P 5 .05). Table 4 shows the MI IRRs on days 1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 15, and 16 to 49 postexacerbation. There was a significantly greater risk of MI in the 1- to 5-day period when exacerbations were defined in the most exacting manner, by prescription of both steroids and antibiotics. The IRR was 2.27 (95% CI, 1.1-4.7; P 5 .03). The magnitude of the rate ratio decreased stepwise with time, although it was not significantly different from baseline at any other time period, or with exacerbations defined in any other way. There were eight MI events in the 1- to 5-day period posttreatment with oral steroids and antibiotics. Therefore, with 20,101 such exacerbations in all Table 1—Number and Duration of Study of All Patients With COPD and Those Who Had a Myocardial Infarction or Stroke Event Patients, No. Time in study, d Events (MI or CVA/TIA), No. All Patients With COPD All Patients With COPD and MI All Patients With COPD and CVA/TIA 25,857 16,874,379 426 264,102 524 482 294,717 633 CVA 5 cerebrovascular accident; MI 5 myocardial infarction; TIA 5 transient ischemic attack. www.chestpubs.org CHEST / 137 / 5 / MAY, 2010 Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 1093 Table 2—Number and Incidence Rates of Exacerbations Using the Three Definitions of Exacerbation All Patients With COPD Exacerbation Definition All Patients With COPD and CVA/ TIA All Patients With COPD and MI Exacerbations, No. Incidence Rate (per y) Exacerbations, No. Incidence Rate (per y) Exacerbations, No. Incidence Rate (per y) 87,554 46,519 20,101 1.89 1.01 0.43 1,737 858 387 2.40a 1.19a 0.53a 1,560 1,010 346 1.93 1.25a 0.43 Antibiotics Steroids Antibiotics and steroids See Table 1 for expansion of abbreviations. aP , .005; two-sided exact significance test. the patients with COPD, the odds of an MI were one in 2,513 exacerbations. The 31 patients who experienced the 33 MI events within 49 days were no older than the remaining 395 patients (73.2 [SD 8.1] vs 73.4 [9.6] years, P 5 .92). There was also no difference in gender (48.4% vs 61.5% men; P 5 .15). They were, however, more likely to transfer to another practice (12.9% vs 4.1%; P 5 .03) during the study, possibly reflecting a move to a care home or relatives. Over the 2 years, there was no significant seasonality in this small group of patients in the number of MI per month (x2 test, P 5 .189) or in the number of exacerbations defined by steroids and antibiotics per month (x2 test, P 5 .488), steroids (P 5 .531), or antibiotics (P 5 .054). Exacerbations and Risk of Stroke Table 5 shows the IRRs for strokes associated with the three different exacerbation definitions. Only for exacerbations defined by treatment with antibiotics was there a significant association, at a delay of 16 to 49 days (IRR 5 1.29; 95% CI, 1.0-1.7; P 5 .05). The IRRs at 1 to 5 and 6 to 10 days were of similar magnitude (1.27 and 1.36, respectively), but not statistically significant. There were no significant associations with the other exacerbation definitions. MI Incidence and Exacerbation Frequency Irrespective of the definition of exacerbation, patients with more frequent exacerbations had a higher inci- dence rate of MI. Figure 2 illustrates this relationship with patients grouped into one-exacerbation-per-year intervals. When exacerbations were defined by treatment with antibiotics and steroids, the correlation (r) over the whole population was only 0.0131 (P 5 .03; n 5 25,857). The weak relationship maybe due to death from MI limiting the opportunity for a relationship to exist and because few patients experience an MI. Discussion This study has for the first time, to our knowledge, shown that exacerbation of COPD is associated with a small, but statistically significant, 2.27-fold increased relative risk of MI during a short 5-day period and of a stroke during the 1- to 49-day period immediately following an exacerbation. There are a number of strengths of our study. We examined a large population of patients with COPD. Although the diagnosis of COPD could not be confirmed with spirometry in all patients, we found a median FEV1% predicted of 55% in the patients experiencing an MI or stroke for whom data were available. Furthermore, the prevalence, demographics, smoking habits, and mortality in our cohort of patients appear appropriate for people with COPD in the United Kingdom.22 Another important strength of our work is the self-case-control method, which avoids confounding by other cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, lipid abnormalities, and diabetes, or noncompliance with treatment, since each patient acts as his or her own control. Change in Table 3—Incidence Rate Ratios for MI and Stroke Event During Days 1 to 49 Postexacerbation Compared With the Remaining Low-Risk Periods for the Three Definitions of Exacerbation MI Stroke Definition of Exacerbation IRR (95% CI) P Value IRR (95% CI) P Value Antibiotics Steroids Antibiotics and steroids 0.95 (0.7-1.2) 1.12 (0.8-1.5) 1.11 (0.7-1.7) .69 .49 .61 1.26 (1.0-1.6) 0.69 (0.5-1.0) 0.93 (0.6-1.5) .05 .06 .75 IRR 5 incident rate ratio. See Table 1 for expansion of other abbreviations. 1094 Original Research Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians Table 4—IRRs for MI Event on Days 1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 15, and 16 to 49 Following COPD Exacerbation for the Three Definitions of Exacerbation Definition of Exacerbation Antibiotics Steroids Antibiotics and steroids 1-5 d 6-10 d 11-15 d 16-49 d IRR (95% CI) P Value IRR (95% CI) P Value IRR (95% CI) P Value IRR (95% CI) P Value 1.14 (0.7-1.8) 1.55 (0.9-2.8) 2.27 (1.1-4.7) .57 .15 .03 0.90 (0.5-1.5) 1.37 (0.7-2.6) 1.74 (0.8-4.0) .71 .33 .19 0.71 (0.4-1.3) 0.80 (0.3-1.8) 0.90 (0.3-2.9) .27 .59 .86 0.97 (0.7-1.3) 1.04 (0.7-1.5) 0.83 (0.5-1.4) .80 .83 .51 See Tables 1 and 3 for expansion of abbreviations. these confounders over the 2-year observation period could potentially bias the findings if exacerbations, MI, and stroke all occurred toward the start or end of the period, but we found no such trend over time in the monthly incidence rate of these events. Our finding of a transient increased MI risk postexacerbation appears insufficient to fully account for the higher annual MI incidence in patients with more frequent exacerbations. The relationship between exacerbations and MI could be explained by common risk factors, such as smoking, low socioeconomic status, and early life experiences. But there is also the possibility that systemic inflammation remains increased after the exacerbation is over and the patient is clinically stable. We have previously shown that patients with frequent exacerbations have higher stable airway inflammatory markers10 and that plasma fibrinogen increases faster over time in frequent than infrequent exacerbators.11 This suggests that treatments to reduce cardiovascular events in COPD are also needed during stable periods.29 We suggest that increased inflammation is a plausible explanation for increased MI and strokes following an exacerbation. Most COPD exacerbations are triggered by airway infection that is viral or bacterial in origin.14 This results in increased airway and systemic inflammation and we have previously shown that during a COPD exacerbation there are increases in both fibrinogen and C-reactive protein.15,30 The former is directly thrombogenic,31 whereas the latter can upregulate other inflammatory cytokines, promote uptake of low-density lipoproteins by macrophages, and increase adhesion of leukocytes to arterial endothelium.5 Another possible explanation is that exacerbations will increase mucus production and bronchoconstriction resulting in alveolar hypoxia, increased pulmonary artery pressures, and an increased burden on the right side of the heart. Additional factors could be increased b2-agonist use by the patient32 or an increase in cardiac afterload due to dynamic hyperinflation, either of which will also increase the risk of adverse cardiac events in obstructive airways disease. Indeed, the effects of inflammation, tachycardia, and hypoxia may be synergistic but the mechanisms underlying our findings require further elucidation. We based our analysis on a health-care definition of exacerbation, with our major finding present using the most robust definition of coprescription of antibiotics and steroids. Identification of MI and stroke was based on Read codes, which have been validated by reproducing known associations with disease and drugs.21 One concern is that physicians may confuse symptoms of an MI with those of a COPD exacerbation. We believe misdiagnosis to be extremely rare given the different clinical history of events, the increased purulent sputum, cough, and wheeze often present with an exacerbation but not with MI, and acute and characteristic central chest pain that commonly accompanies an MI but is rarely associated with COPD exacerbation. Furthermore, diagnosis of an MI will eventually be confirmed by a visit to the hospital, where cardiac enzymes or troponin levels will be measured and an electrocardiogram performed. One limitation of our study was that the date of exacerbation onset could not be determined precisely. The date of consultation cannot be taken as the date of exacerbation onset as patients may hesitate in seeking medical attention33 or be delayed by reluctance to Table 5—IRRs for Stroke on Days 1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 15 and 16 to 49 Following COPD Exacerbation for the Three Definitions of Exacerbation Definition of Exacerbation Antibiotics Steroids Antibiotics and steroids 1-5 d 6-10 d 11-15 d 16-49 d IRR (95% CI) P Value IRR (95% CI) P Value IRR (95% CI) P Value IRR (95% CI) P Value 1.27 (0.8-2.1) 0.55 (0.2-1.3) 0.55 (0.1-2.3) .34 .16 .41 1.36 (0.8-2.2) 0.66 (0.3-1.5) 1.40 (0.6-3.6) .22 .31 .46 0.96 (0.5-1.7) 0.41 (0.1-1.2) 0.59 (0.1-2.4) .90 .10 .46 1.29 (1.0-1.7) 0.78 (0.5-1.2) 0.97 (0.6-1.6) .05 .28 .91 See Table 3 for expansion of the abbreviation. www.chestpubs.org CHEST / 137 / 5 / MAY, 2010 Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 1095 Figure 2. Annual rate of MI against the annual rate of exacerbation defined as prescription of steroids and antibiotics together. r 5 0.0131; P 5 .03. See the Figure 1 legend for expansion of the abbreviation. access health care on weekends. Patients may also selftreat at home with prophylactically prescribed courses of antibiotics and/or steroids, which would make it harder to detect any significant association between exacerbations and cardiovascular events. We also cannot rule out the possibility that treatment with oral steroids, which can affect fibrinolysis,34 increased the risk of a cardiovascular event. However, we found no significant increase in MI or stroke post exacerbations treated by oral corticosteroids alone. Another potential limitation of this study is that we have not looked for subgroups of patients who might be at greater risk of a cardiovascular event postexacerbation. This question is complicated by whether drug therapy indicates increased risk (eg, presence of hypercholesterolemia) or reduced risk of MI (because hypercholesterolemia has been treated). Risk stratification may prove a productive area for future research. We found that exacerbations defined by treatment with antibiotics were associated with an increased risk of stroke. Although the relative risk (IRR 5 1.29) was significant only at 16 to 49 days postexacerbation, it was similar in magnitude to those immediately after exacerbation (IRR 5 1.27 on days 1-5 and IRR 5 1.36 on days 6-10). This suggests a somewhat different mechanism may be involved in the pathogenesis of MI and stroke risk. Tachycardia, hypoxia, increased cardiac work load, and thrombotic risk could all contribute to rapid occlusion at a site of existing stenosis in the relatively narrow coronary arteries that would explain the higher risk of an MI 1 to 5 days postexacerbation. With ischemic cerebral events, however, the carotid arteries are relatively larger and embolic phenomena are more important. Events may take longer to manifest with increased levels of fibrinogen and other clotting factors in the blood. Our findings for stroke agree 1096 with a recent case-controlled study in which there was an increased risk of a stroke at both 1 to 7 days and 8 to 28 days delay post respiratory infection.35 Our findings in patients with COPD agree with other studies that have shown that respiratory infection in the general population increases the likelihood of an MI. Meier et al20 report a relative risk of 2.7 in healthy individuals at days 1 to 5 and Smeeth et al19 reported a relative risk of 4.95 over days 1 to 3. Clayton et al35 have reported in a case-controlled study an odds ratio of 2.10 with recent respiratory infection. The generally lower relative risk in our study may be due to patients with COPD seeking medical help because of their limited respiratory capacity for milder respiratory infections than the general population. This is consistent with our finding of no association between MI and treatment with antibiotics or corticosteroids. Indeed, only the most severe COPD exacerbations, those requiring the greatest treatment and causing a higher proportion of hospital admissions, resulted in a demonstrable increased risk of an MI. Alternatively, as patients with COPD are already at increased risk of vascular disease, there may be a ceiling effect to the additional risk at the time of exacerbation. In conclusion, we have defined the magnitude and timing of a small yet significantly increased risk of MI following an exacerbation of COPD that is approximately double that present in stable disease. MI occurs following one in 2,513 exacerbations, and the risk returns to baseline within 5 days of treatment of the exacerbation. The data suggest that there is a good rationale for treating both the stable and exacerbation states to reduce cardiovascular events in patients with COPD. Acknowledgments Author contributions: Dr Donaldson had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Dr Donaldson: contributed to the original idea for the study, performed the statistical analysis, wrote the initial draft of the paper, edited the paper, and approved the final version. Dr Hurst: contributed to the original idea for the study, decided which Read codes to use for definitions, wrote the initial draft of the paper, edited the paper, and approved the final version. Mr Smith: contributed to performing the initial data extraction and provided expert advice on data interpretation, edited the paper, and approved the final version. Dr Hubbard: contributed to performing the initial data extraction and provided expert advice on data interpretation, edited the paper, and approved the final version. Dr Wedzicha: contributed to the original idea for the study, decided which Read codes to use for definitions, edited the paper, and approved the final version. Financial/nonfinancial disclosures: The authors have reported to CHEST that no potential conflicts of interest exist with any companies/organizations whose products or services may be discussed in this article. Other contributions: We thank the British Lung Foundation for support and EPIC for funding The Health Information Network (THIN) database. The study had approval from the Nottingham Research Ethics Committee. 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Recent respiratory infection and risk of cardiovascular disease: case-control study through a general practice database. Eur Heart J. 2008;29(1):96-103. CHEST / 137 / 5 / MAY, 2010 Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 1097 Read codes used to identify COPD patients. QOL code for COPD Read code H3...00 H3...11 H30..00 H30..11 H30..12 H300.00 H301.00 H302.00 H30z.00 H31..00 H310.00 H310000 H310z00 H311.00 H311000 H311100 H311z00 H312.00 H312000 H312011 H312100 H312300 H312z00 H313.00 H31y.00 H31y100 H31yz00 H31z.00 H32..00 H320.00 H320000 H320100 H320200 H320300 H320311 H320z00 H321.00 H322.00 H32y.00 H32y000 Description Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive airways disease Bronchitis unspecified Chest infection - unspecified bronchitis Recurrent wheezy bronchitis Tracheobronchitis NOS Laryngotracheobronchitis Wheezy bronchitis Bronchitis NOS Chronic bronchitis Simple chronic bronchitis Chronic catarrhal bronchitis Simple chronic bronchitis NOS Mucopurulent chronic bronchitis Purulent chronic bronchitis Fetid chronic bronchitis Mucopurulent chronic bronchitis NOS Obstructive chronic bronchitis Chronic asthmatic bronchitis Chronic wheezy bronchitis Emphysematous bronchitis Bronchiolitis obliterans Obstructive chronic bronchitis NOS Mixed simple and mucopurulent chronic bronchitis Other chronic bronchitis Chronic tracheobronchitis Other chronic bronchitis NOS Chronic bronchitis NOS Emphysema Chronic bullous emphysema Segmental bullous emphysema Zonal bullous emphysema Giant bullous emphysema Bullous emphysema with collapse Tension pneumatocoele Chronic bullous emphysema NOS Panlobular emphysema Centrilobular emphysema Other emphysema Acute vesicular emphysema Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians QOL code for COPD Read code H32y100 H32y111 H32y200 H32yz00 H32yz11 H32z.00 H36..00 H37..00 H38..00 H3y..00 H3y..11 H3y0.00 H3y1.00 H3z..00 H3z..11 Description Atrophic (senile) emphysema Acute interstitial emphysema MacLeod's unilateral emphysema Other emphysema NOS Sawyer - Jones syndrome Emphysema NOS Mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Other specified chronic obstructive airways disease Other specified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstruct pulmonary dis with acute lower resp infectn Chron obstruct pulmonary dis wth acute exacerbation, unspec Chronic obstructive airways disease NOS Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease NOS A Read code is a code for an item on a comprehensive list of terms used to describe the care and treatment of patients, they enable computer systems to firstly capture and then retrieve on demand patient information in natural clinical language. QoF was an initiative aimed at general practices to receive addition payments if they were able to demonstrate high levels of clinical care for people with specific diseases. QoF codes for COPD refer to the conditions that patients need to have to be identified as a COPD patient. Antibiotic BNF chapter code, Multilex Drug code and name BNF code 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.01 05.01.01.02 05.01.01.02 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 Multilex code 97969992 94845998 98987998 94762997 94762998 90862997 94845996 94845997 94533992 97970992 90864997 97110997 97592998 98987996 96621997 96621998 96944992 89177998 Description PENICILLIN V (PHENOXYMETHYLPENICILLIN) PENICILLIN V PHENOXYMETHYLPENICILLIN PENICILLIN V PENICILLIN V PHENOXYMETHYLPENICILLIN PENICILLIN V PENICILLIN V PENICILLIN V (PHENOXYMETHYLPENICILLIN) PENICILLIN PHENOXYMETHYLPENICILLIN PENICILLIN V PHENOXYMETHYLPENICILLIN PHENOXYMETHYLPENICILLIN CLOXACILLIN CLOXACILLIN AMPICILLIN AMOXICILLIN Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 93372997 93372998 93377997 93377998 93407997 93407998 94699997 94699998 94936997 97130997 97130998 97131997 97131998 98968998 99171998 99275997 99275998 99846990 99962997 99962998 99964997 99964998 93225997 95029997 96944998 99927997 97868996 98673998 95077998 95086997 95086998 96309997 96309998 97131996 96943998 96944996 93407996 93446998 94792997 94792998 97868997 91014998 93224996 93224998 93225996 93372996 93375998 97129997 98363998 98364998 AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMPICILLIN+ CLOXACILLIN AMPICILLIN AMPICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMPICILLIN AMPICILLIN+ CLOXACILLIN AMPICILLIN AMPICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMPICILLIN AMPICILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV AMOXICILLIN+ CLAVULANIC ACID AMOXICILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV CO-AMOXICLAV CO-AMOXICLAV CO-AMOXICLAV AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMPICILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV CO-AMOXICLAV Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.03 05.01.01.05 05.01.01.05 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 98820998 95028998 95495997 97129998 97130996 98354998 93253992 94794997 94794998 96092992 96582992 96822992 99743992 88536998 93224997 93225998 94872998 95029998 95218998 95491998 95494997 95495998 96137990 96256996 96256997 96660998 96731990 96975990 97010990 97708997 98451998 99075998 99110998 99111998 99236998 99927998 95490997 98823998 88245998 90029998 92634998 92635998 93529997 93529998 94729998 94730996 94870998 94873998 96846997 96846998 PIVAMPICILLIN AMOXICILLIN+ CLAVULANIC ACID PIVAMPICILLIN AMPICILLIN AMPICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXYCILLIN S/F AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN AMOXYCILLIN AMPICILLIN AMOXYCILLIN AMOXYCILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV CO-AMOXICLAV CO-AMOXICLAV PIVMECILLINAM+ PIVAMPICILLIN AMOXICILLIN+ CLAVULANIC ACID TALAMPICILLIN PIVMECILLINAM+ PIVAMPICILLIN PIVAMPICILLIN+ PIVMECILLINAM PIVAMPICILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV AMOXICILLIN AMOXICILLIN CLAVULANIC ACID+ AMOXICILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV CO-AMOXICLAV CO-AMOXICLAV CLAVULANIC ACID+ AMOXICILLIN PIVMECILLINAM+ PIVAMPICILLIN TALAMPICILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV AMOXICILLIN+ CLAVULANIC ACID PIVAMPICILLIN CO-AMOXICLAV PIVMECILLINAM PIVMECILLINAM CEFACLOR CEFALEXIN CEFTIBUTEN CEFTIBUTEN CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFACLOR CEFACLOR CEFRADINE CEFRADINE Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 96855998 96856998 97311998 97887998 97888996 98984997 98984998 99741998 97885998 94915996 93901997 93901998 94791997 94791998 93245997 87657998 87658998 94873996 93246997 94729996 94729997 94904996 96835997 96835998 96855997 96856996 96856997 97311996 97311997 97806997 97886996 97886997 98813998 99741996 99741997 96147992 96836996 96836997 96836998 96846996 97886998 97887996 97887997 98984996 94565992 91561997 93245998 93246998 93534998 94730997 CEFADROXIL CEFACLOR CEFADROXIL CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFRADINE CEFRADINE CEFACLOR CEFALEXINPAED CEFUROXIMEAXETIL CEFACLOR CEFACLOR CEFACLOR CEFACLOR CEFIXIME CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFACLOR CEFIXIME CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFUROXIMEAXETIL CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFADROXIL CEFACLOR CEFACLOR CEFADROXIL CEFADROXIL CEFPODOXIME CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFADROXIL CEFACLOR CEFACLOR CEPHRADINE CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFRADINE CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFRADINE CEFACLOR M/R CEFPROZIL CEFIXIME CEFIXIME CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.02.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 94730998 94904997 94904998 94915997 94915998 96837997 96837998 97806998 97888997 97888998 98940998 99700988 99101998 99101997 93484992 96781992 97246992 88431998 92613998 93923998 95196997 95644998 96304997 96305997 97753998 97892998 98341997 98969998 99055997 99056998 99060997 88030998 91630998 96305998 98969997 97842992 97153997 98969996 93276992 95369992 96485992 97843992 92481998 93938998 95192998 95801997 97153998 97154998 98341998 98456998 CEFALEXIN CEFUROXIMEAXETIL CEFUROXIMEAXETIL CEFUROXIMEAXETIL CEFUROXIMEAXETIL CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFPODOXIME CEFALEXIN CEFALEXIN CEFPODOXIME CEFALEXIN DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) DOXYCYCLINE TETRACYCLINE DOXYCYCLINE HCl DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) TETRACYCLINE OXYTETRACYCLINE DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) TETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) TETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE OXYTETRACYCLINE DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) DOXYCYCLINE MONOHYDRATE DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) DOXYCYCLINE MONOHYDRATE OXYTETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE DOXYCYCLINE(AS HYCLATE) CHLORTETRACYCLINE HCl/DEMECLOCYCLINE HCl OXYTETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE OXYTETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE+CHORTET&DEMECLOCYC OXYTETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE+CHORTET&DEMECLOCYC MINOCYCLINE TETRACYCLINE OXYTETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE OXYTETRACYCLINE Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.03.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 99060998 99382997 99767998 99895998 98323998 94980992 87506998 90844998 94512998 94523998 96785998 97932998 99542998 97118996 97759990 97118997 97118998 97375992 89246998 92495998 88378998 92495997 94819998 94820998 97519998 90567998 96783996 96783997 98751996 99679996 94523997 96784996 96784997 96784998 97117996 97117997 97117998 98751998 99679998 99680998 97379992 97380992 94512996 94523996 94530996 94530998 94531996 94531998 94819997 94820997 OXYTETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE+ NYSTATIN TETRACYCLINE+CHORTET&DEMECLOCYC OXYTETRACYCLINE TETRACYCLINE ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN AZITHROMYCIN AZITHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCINESTOLATE ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCINESTOLATE ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN CLARITHROMYCIN CLARITHROMYCIN CLARITHROMYCIN CLARITHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE AZITHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN STEARATE ERYTHROMYCIN STEARATE AZITHROMYCIN AZITHROMYCIN CLARITHROMYCIN CLARITHROMYCIN CLARITHROMYCIN CLARITHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE ERYTHROMYCIN ETHYLSUCCINATE Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.05.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.08.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 96781997 96781998 98752998 98754998 99103996 99103997 99542997 99681998 99682998 99683998 99749992 95351998 97199998 97200997 99143997 99919998 95353998 95354998 98523998 98612998 94119992 94849992 96169992 97168992 93957998 95233998 97200996 97200998 98521998 98522998 98613998 99143998 88261997 88261998 88267997 88267998 93079996 93080996 89361998 93079997 93079998 93080997 93080998 93255998 93256998 93552997 93552998 93554997 93554998 94429998 ERYTHROMYCIN STEARATE ERYTHROMYCIN STEARATE ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN STEARATE ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN ERYTHROMYCIN STEARATE ERYTHROMYCIN CO-TRIMOXAZOLE/TRIMETHOPRIM&SULPHAMETHAZ CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLEADULT CO-TRIMOXAZOLEPAED CO-TRIMOXAZOLEADULT CO-TRIMOXAZOLEADULT CO-TRIMOXAZOLE/TRIMETHOPRIM&SULPHAMETHOX CO-TRIMOXAZOLE/TRIMETHOPRIM&SULPHAMETHOX CO-TRIMOXAZOLE(SULPHAMETH/TRIMETH 160 CO-TRIMOXAZOLE/TRIMETHOPRIM&SULPHAMETHOX CO-TRIMOXAZOLE SULFAMETOPYRAZINE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE CO-TRIMOXAZOLE LEVOFLOXACIN LEVOFLOXACIN LEVOFLOXACIN LEVOFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN MOXIFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN NORFLOXACIN NORFLOXACIN OFLOXACIN OFLOXACIN OFLOXACIN OFLOXACIN ENOXACIN Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 05.01.12.00 94430998 94912996 94912998 94913996 94913998 95305997 95305998 96024990 ENOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN TEMAFLOXACIN TEMAFLOXACIN CIPROFLOXACIN Oral corticosteroids BNF chapter code, Multilex Drug code and name BNF code 06.03.01.00 06.03.01.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 Multilex code 96603997 96603998 93912998 95417996 92810997 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 92861998 93075998 92810998 95484992 95487992 95492992 95493992 96409992 96410992 96411992 96743992 96744992 97240992 97942992 97943992 93912996 95417997 95417998 95847997 95847998 95967998 96143997 96143998 96431997 96431998 97155997 97155998 Description CORTISONE ACETATE CORTISONE ACETATE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE DEXAMETHASONE BETAMETHASONE SODIUM PHOSPHATE PREDNISOLONE SODIUM PHOSPHATE DEXAMETHASONE PREDNISOLONE E/C PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISONE PREDNISONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE METHYLPREDNISOLONE METHYLPREDNISOLONE BETAMETHASONE HYDROCORTISONE HYDROCORTISONE DEXAMETHASONE DEXAMETHASONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 97156997 97156998 97436998 97492997 97492998 97502998 97829998 98326997 98326998 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 06.03.02.00 98394998 98562997 98562998 99226998 99228997 99228998 99781998 PREDNISONE PREDNISONE PREDNISOLONE HYDROCORTISONE HYDROCORTISONE DEXAMETHASONE METHYLPREDNISOLONE TRIAMCINOLONE TRIAMCINOLONE BETAMETHASONE SODIUM PHOSPHATE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE SODIUM PHOSPHATE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISOLONE PREDNISONE Myocardial Infarction Read Codes and Description medcode G30..00 G30..11 G30..12 G30..13 G30..14 G30..15 G30..16 G30..17 G300.00 G301.00 G301000 G301100 G301z00 G302.00 G303.00 G304.00 G305.00 G306.00 G307.00 G307000 G307100 G308.00 G309.00 G30A.00 G30B.00 G30X.00 G30X000 G30y.00 Description Acute myocardial infarction Attack - heart Coronary thrombosis Cardiac rupture following myocardial infarction (MI) Heart attack MI - acute myocardial infarction Thrombosis - coronary Silent myocardial infarction Acute anterolateral infarction Other specified anterior myocardial infarction Acute anteroapical infarction Acute anteroseptal infarction Anterior myocardial infarction NOS Acute inferolateral infarction Acute inferoposterior infarction Posterior myocardial infarction NOS Lateral myocardial infarction NOS True posterior myocardial infarction Acute subendocardial infarction Acute non-Q wave infarction Acute non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction Inferior myocardial infarction NOS Acute Q-wave infarct Mural thrombosis Acute posterolateral myocardial infarction Acute transmural myocardial infarction of unspecif site Acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction Other acute myocardial infarction Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians G30y000 G30y100 G30y200 G30yz00 G30z.00 G35..00 G350.00 G351.00 G353.00 G35X.00 Acute atrial infarction Acute papillary muscle infarction Acute septal infarction Other acute myocardial infarction NOS Acute myocardial infarction NOS Subsequent myocardial infarction Subsequent myocardial infarction of anterior wall Subsequent myocardial infarction of inferior wall Subsequent myocardial infarction of other sites Subsequent myocardial infarction of unspecified site Ischaemic Stroke Read Codes and Description medcode G63..11 G630.00 G631.00 G631.11 G631.12 G632.00 G633.00 G634.00 G63y.00 G63y000 G63y100 G63z.00 G64..00 G64..11 G64..12 G64..13 G640.00 G640000 G641.00 G641.11 G641000 G64z.00 G64z.11 G64z.12 G64z000 G64z200 G64z300 G64z400 G66..00 G66..11 G66..12 G66..13 G663.00 Description Infarction - precerebral Basilar artery occlusion Carotid artery occlusion Stenosis, carotid artery Thrombosis, carotid artery Vertebral artery occlusion Multiple and bilateral precerebral arterial occlusion Carotid artery stenosis Other precerebral artery occlusion Cerebral infarct due to thrombosis of precerebral arteries Cerebral infarction due to embolism of precerebral arteries Precerebral artery occlusion NOS Cerebral arterial occlusion CVA - cerebral artery occlusion Infarction - cerebral Stroke due to cerebral arterial occlusion Cerebral thrombosis Cerebral infarction due to thrombosis of cerebral arteries Cerebral embolism Cerebral embolus Cerebral infarction due to embolism of cerebral arteries Cerebral infarction NOS Brainstem infarction NOS Cerebellar infarction Brainstem infarction Left sided cerebral infarction Right sided cerebral infarction Infarction of basal ganglia Stroke and cerebrovascular accident unspecified CVA unspecified Stroke unspecified CVA - Cerebrovascular accident unspecified Brain stem stroke syndrome Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians G664.00 G665.00 G666.00 G667.00 G668.00 G670.00 G670.11 G671000 G677000 G677100 G677200 G677300 G677400 G6W..00 G6X..00 Cerebellar stroke syndrome Pure motor lacunar syndrome Pure sensory lacunar syndrome Left sided CVA Right sided CVA Cerebral atherosclerosis Precerebral atherosclerosis Acute cerebrovascular insufficiency NOS Occlusion and stenosis of middle cerebral artery Occlusion and stenosis of anterior cerebral artery Occlusion and stenosis of posterior cerebral artery Occlusion and stenosis of cerebellar arteries Occlusion+stenosis of multiple and bilat cerebral arteries Cereb infarct due unsp occlus/stenos precerebr arteries Cerebrl infarctn due/unspcf occlusn or sten/cerebrl artrs Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke Following Exacerbation of COPD Gavin C. Donaldson, John R. Hurst, Christopher J. Smith, Richard B. Hubbard and Jadwiga A. Wedzicha Chest 2010;137; 1091-1097; Prepublished online December 18, 2009; DOI 10.1378/chest.09-2029 This information is current as of October 20, 2011 Supplementary Material View e-supplements related to this article at: http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/suppl/2010/05/04/chest.09-2029.DC1.html Updated Information & Services Updated Information and services can be found at: http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/137/5/1091.full.html References This article cites 35 articles, 21 of which can be accessed free at: http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/137/5/1091.full.html#ref-list-1 Cited Bys This article has been cited by 7 HighWire-hosted articles: http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/137/5/1091.full.html#related-urls Permissions & Licensing Information about reproducing this article in parts (figures, tables) or in its entirety can be found online at: http://www.chestpubs.org/site/misc/reprints.xhtml Reprints Information about ordering reprints can be found online: http://www.chestpubs.org/site/misc/reprints.xhtml Citation Alerts Receive free e-mail alerts when new articles cite this article. To sign up, select the "Services" link to the right of the online article. Images in PowerPoint format Figures that appear in CHEST articles can be downloaded for teaching purposes in PowerPoint slide format. See any online figure for directions. Downloaded from chestjournal.chestpubs.org at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH on October 20, 2011 © 2010 American College of Chest Physicians