The Study of Severity and Pattern of Smoking and Drug Abuse in COPD Patients

In holistic care the patients are considered comprehensively, not merely as an involved organ. So, the physical and psychological managements are needed to achieve the optimum treatment results.
The current analytic cross-sectional study tried to assess the amount and pattern of substance abuse among the hospitalized COPD patients of Dr. Masih Daneshvari Hospital, in order to provide more appropriate treatment for them. Ninety COPD patients with the history of substance abuse were compared with 90 ones without any abuse history. Using ASI questionnaire and SPSS software (V21) software, the patient’s information was obtained and analyzed.
The participant’s mean age was 66±11 years, while 90% were male and 84% were married. At the time of study 37.9% was smoker which among them, 51.2% lit their cigarettes in the first 5 minutes upon waking up. Most patients (50.9%) started to use opium at the age of 20-39 years. Regular opium usage was seen in 71%; in them inhalation (64.8%) and oral (35.2%) were the intake routes. The Pattern of opium usage and number of hospital admission were related. Also, job and pattern of substances abuse were significantly related.
Most of the COPD patients continue to smoke and use opium, regardless of their progressive pulmonary disease. Thus, they are noncompliant with treatment and have obligatory multiple hospitalizations. As a result, comprehensive treatment of these patients - including both pulmonary disease and addiction - is needed to be addressed.