The Relationship Between Prognostic Nutritional Indexes and the Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

PURPOSE: Nutritional status is related to the clinical outcomes of patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between nutritional status, measured by the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and adverse hospitalization outcomes in patients with AECOPD. METHODS: Consecutive AECOPD patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between January 1, 2015 to October 31, 2021 were enrolled. We collected the clinical characteristics and laboratory data of patients. Multivariable logistic regression models were developed to assess the relationship between the baseline PNI and adverse hospitalization outcomes. A generalized additive model (GAM) was used to identify any non-linear relationship. In addition, we performed a subgroup analysis to tested the robustness of the results. RESULTS: A total of 385 AECOPD patients were involved in this retrospective cohort study. Based on the tertiles of PNI, patients in the lower tertiles of PNI showed more worse outcome incidence (30 [23.6%] versus 17 [13.2%] versus 8 [6.2%]; p < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the PNI were independently associated with adverse hospitalization outcomes after adjustment for confounding factors (Odds ratio [OR] = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91 to 0.97, P < 0.0001). After adjusting for confounders, smooth curve fitting showed a saturation effect, suggesting that the relationship between the PNI and adverse hospitalization outcomes was nonlinear. Two-piecewise linear regression model suggested that the incidence of adverse hospitalization outcomes significantly decreased with PNI level up to the inflection point (PNI = 42), and PNI was not associated with adverse hospitalization outcome after that point. CONCLUSION: Decreased PNI levels at admission were determined to be associated with adverse hospitalization outcomes in patients with AECOPD. The results obtained in this study may potentially assist clinicians optimize risk evaluations and clinical management processes.