Association of gastro-esophageal reflux disease symptoms with COPD severity and acute exacerbations of COPD

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in COPD patients but there is little prospective data on the impact of GERD on COPD exacerbations. Objectives: To evaluate the association of GERD and GERD-related therapy with disease severity and exacerbation frequency in COPD patients. Methods: 1087 COPD patients and 392 controls were included. GERD symptoms were evaluated with GERD-Q questionnaire and treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) was recorded. All patients were contacted monthly and acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) and hospitalizations for COPD exacerbations were recorded. Results: The presence of significant GERD symptoms was more common in COPD patients compared to controls (25.4 vs. 9.0%, p Conclusions: GERD symptoms are significantly associated with COPD exacerbations and hospitalizations and treatment with PPIs is related to less exacerbations and hospitalizations.