Respiratory Department, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol, UK.
Chron Respir Dis. 2011;8(2):143-51. doi: 10.1177/1479972311407218.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in old age is an increasing problem. Understanding the features of COPD in older patients is important in order to introduce effective interventions and to inform efforts for health resource allocation. Features of importance to old age include increased prevalence of COPD in non-smokers and rise in the rate of systemic comorbidities. In addition, acute exacerbations in older patients have poorer outcome, manifesting by increase in the rate of hospitalisation, greater length of stay, increase of the rate of re-hospitalisation and in mortality rate. Impaired cognitive functions as well as problems affecting hand joints make using inhaled medications less reliable which leads to further deterioration of outcome of care. Even for those who are competent in using inhalers, the evidence for their efficacy in older patients is not certain.
老年慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）是一个日益严重的问题。了解老年患者 COPD 的特征对于引入有效的干预措施以及为卫生资源分配提供信息非常重要。与老年相关的重要特征包括非吸烟者中 COPD 的患病率增加以及全身性合并症的发生率上升。此外，老年患者的急性加重期预后较差，表现为住院率增加、住院时间延长、再住院率增加和死亡率增加。认知功能受损以及影响手部关节的问题使得吸入药物的使用不可靠，从而进一步导致护理结果恶化。即使对于那些有能力使用吸入器的患者，其在老年患者中的疗效证据也不明确。
