Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41492099›Full record

ArticleAnnals of medicine2026

Clinical impact of disease stability on exacerbation and mortality in COPD: a retrospective cohort study.

Sang Hyuk Kim, Jung-Kyu Lee, Kyung Hoon Min, Deog Kyeom Kim, Hyun Woo Lee

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Article in Annals of medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Sang Hyuk KimDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jung-Kyu LeeDivision of Respiratory and Critical Care, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kyung Hoon MinDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Deog Kyeom KimDivision of Respiratory and Critical Care, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hyun Woo LeeDivision of Respiratory and Critical Care, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0003-4379-0260

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDisease stability is an achievable goal in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management. However, the clinical implications of disease stability in patients with COPD remain unclear.

methodsWe conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study using the electronic medical records of treated patients with symptomatic COPD. Patients who had newly initiated inhaler therapy with long-acting β2-agonist/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LABA/LAMA) or inhaled corticosteroid/LABA/LAMA combinations were included. Disease stability was defined over a one-year assessment period as meeting all of the following criteria: (1) symptom stability; (2) no moderate or severe exacerbations; and (3) no rapid decline in lung function. The outcomes included acute exacerbations and all-cause mortality.

resultsOf the 725 screened patients, 405 were eligible for inclusion in the study. Among them, 158 (39.0%) achieved disease stability. The proportions of patients who met each criterion were 70.4% for symptom stability, 63.7% for no exacerbations, and 71.4% for a non-rapid lung function decline. Only 5.9% met none of these criteria. During the follow up duration of median 62 (interquartile ranges, 30-90) months, disease stability was significantly associated with a reduced risk of moderate-to-severe (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.521, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.392-0.692) and severe (aHR 0.393, 95% CI 0.279-0.553) exacerbations after adjusting for confounders. It was also associated with a decreased mortality risk (aHR 0.345, 95% CI 0.135-0.883).

conclusionDisease stability was associated with a lower risk of exacerbation and mortality, suggesting its potential role as a treatment target and outcome measure for COPD.

Indexed as

Adrenergic beta-2 Receptor AgonistsMuscarinic AntagonistsPulmonary Disease, Chronic ObstructiveAdministration, InhalationAdrenal Cortex HormonesAgedDisease ProgressionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSeverity of Illness IndexAdrenal Cortex HormonesAdrenergic beta-2 Receptor AgonistsMuscarinic AntagonistsChronic obstructive pulmonary diseasedisease progressionexacerbationmortalitytreatment outcome

Identifiers

PMID41492099
PMCPMC12778000

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.