Use of adjunctive cardiovascular therapy in patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of COPD.

Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is one of the most frequent diagnoses in patients presenting with acute dyspnea or respiratory failure. According to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) document, it is defined clinically, as acute worsening of respiratory symptoms that result in additional therapies, being bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and antibiotics the cornerstone of acute management. However, comorbidities in COPD, including cardiac disease, contribute significantly to heterogeneity of the single acute episode in real-life practice. Therefore, we were interested in evaluating how patients admitted to the hospital with a clinical diagnosis of AECOPD were managed at admission, and we analyzed the therapeutic approach at onset of AECOPD in hospitalized patients, aiming at assessing the adjunctive use of diuretic therapy.