COPD severity in some provinces of the Department of Boyacá (Colombia) according to the ALAT 2019 and GOLD 2022 guidelines ; Severidad de la EPOC en algunas provincias del departamento de Boyacá (Colombia) según las guías ALAT 2019 y GOLD 2022

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a condition that progressively limits the ability to perform exercise and activities of daily living, negatively impacting quality of life. Objective: To determine the severity of COPD according to the criteria of the Latin American COPD Clinical Practice Guidelines (ALAT 2019) and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD 2022) pocket guide for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of COPD in patients suffering from this condition in Boyacá, Colombia. Materials and methods: A retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational study was carried out in 248 COPD patients from municipalities in the Central and Sugamuxi provinces of the department of Boyacá (Colombia). Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected, spirometry was performed, and the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scale and the COPD assessment questionnaire (CAT) were administered. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to evaluate the association of the clinical and sociodemographic variables considered with the classification of COPD severity according to the criteria of the ALAT 2019 and GOLD 2022 guidelines. Results: According to the ALAT guideline criteria, COPD was mild in 109 (43.95%) patients, moderate in 104 (41.93%), and severe in 35 (14.11%). Meanwhile, according to the GOLD guidelines, 108 (43.55%) had GOLD-1 COPD, 106 (42.74%) had GOLD-2 COPD, and 34 (13.71%) had GOLD-3 COPD; no cases of GOLD-4 COPD were reported. In addition, 99.06% of patients with mild COPD were classified as COPD GOLD-1 (81.65% in the GOLD-1A group), 98.06% of cases with moderate COPD were classified as COPD GOLD-2 (54.80% in the GOLD-2B group), and 91.42% of subjects with severe COPD were classified as COPD GOLD-3 (62.85% in the GOLD3D group). Conclusions: COPD severity can be classified using both the ALAT and GOLD guidelines, since the distribution of COPD types depending on severity was similar in both guidelines (mild, moderate, severe vs. GOLD-1, ...