Definition of exacerbation in HIRA database
J80, pneumonia, dyspnea, COPD, COPD ICD-10, J43.x
PNEUMONIA, PULMONARY THROMBOEMBOLISM, COPD, DISEASES, ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME
Moderate exacerbation was defined by an outpatient visit with an COPD ICD-10 code (J43.x-44.x, except J430) with prescription of systemic steroids with or without antibiotics. Severe exacerbation was defined by a visit to an emergency room and/or hospital admission with a COPD (J43.x–J44.x, except for J43.0) or COPD-related diseases such as pneumonia (J12.x–J17.x), pulmonary thromboembolism (I26, I26.0 and I26.9), dyspnea (R06.0), or acute respiratory distress syndrome (J80) with prescriptions of steroid and/or antibiotics. This method has been utilized in many previous our studies