Enhanced detection of respiratory pathogens using PCR in COPD and asthma exacerbations.

This study aimed to identify bacterial pathogens causing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations and asthma attacks by evaluating nasopharyngeal swabs tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and simultaneous sputum cultures from hospitalized patients, and to assess the contribution of PCR to causative agent identification.