2. Patients and methods
pneumonia, liver or renal illness, lower-respiratory-tract infection, respiratory diseases, alcohol abuse, atrial fibrillation, COPD
RESPIRATORY DISEASE, PNEUMONIA, MOBITZ TYPE I, SECOND-DEGREE HEART BLOCK, THIRD-DEGREE HEART BLOCK, COPD, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE, ATRIAL FIBRILLATION, VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA
The study was approved by the local medical ethics council of Shandong Provincial Hospital and was undertaken at Shandong Provincial Hospital. All participants were recruited from outpatients of Shandong Provincial Hospital. This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (We used the eligibility criteria as follows: patients who were diagnosed with COPD on the basis of Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 2018 guidelines had a post-albuterol/salbutamol (FEVPatients were excluded if they met the following criteria: currently diagnosed with asthma, lung transplantation or pulmonary rehabilitation, hospitalization for pneumonia or COPD within 4 weeks before the visit, drug or alcohol abuse, required long-term oxygen therapy (prescribed for ≥12 h/d), antibiotic use due to lower-respiratory-tract infection within 4 weeks before visit, participated in the acute stage of a pulmonary rehabilitation project within 4 weeks before visit, and accompanied with other respiratory diseases or clinically significant medical condition including an abnormal and significant clinically electrocardiogram finding at visit determined by atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular rate (>120 bpm.), ventricular tachycardia or second-degree heart block Mobitz type II or third-degree heart block (unless a pacemaker or defibrillator had been inserted). Patients with severe liver or renal illness were also excluded.