Time-course of upper respiratory tract viral infection and COPD exacerbation

Viral respiratory tract infections have been implicated as the predominant risk factor for acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). We aimed to evaluate, longitudinally, the association between upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) caused by viruses and AECOPD. Detection of 18 viruses was performed in naso- and orοpharyngeal swabs in 450 COPD patients (GOLD 2–4), followed for a mean of 27 months, at stable periods (n=1909), at URTI onset (n=391), 10 days after the URTI (n=356) and at AECOPD (n=177) using a multiplex nucleic acid amplification testing. Evidence of at least one respiratory virus was significantly higher at URTI onset (52.7%), at 10 days following a URTI (15.2%) and at exacerbation (38.4%), compared with the stable period (5.3%, p The prevalence of viral infection at the stable period of COPD is low. The risk of exacerbation following the onset of URTI symptoms depends on the particular virus associated with the event and was significant only for parainfluenza 3.