Assessment of severity of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

There are several reasons to assess the severity of COPD exacerbations. First, assessment of severity can be helpful clinically to triage the patient to the appropriate level of medical care. It helps the physician target the intensity of therapy and may help to prognosticate patient outcomes. Second, a severity assessment may be helpful from a health-care economic standpoint. In a single-payer health-care system, resources can be directed to areas based on the numbers and severity of exacerbations. In a third-party payer system, payment might be tied to the severity level of the exacerbation. Finally, assessment of the severity of an exacerbation could provide a standard by which various studies of exacerbation can be compared. This is important for evaluating new therapies and for examining the natural history of the disease.