Abstract: Objective To observe the clinical therapeutic effect, duration of hospitalization and hospitalization costs of sputum induction technique in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Methods 88 patients with AECOPD were randomly divided into two groups:44 in the control group and the rest the treatment group. Patients of the control group underwent conventional treatment, while those of the treatment group were administrated with sputum induction technique. Results The effective percentage of the treatment group (93.17%) was higher than the control (59.09%), which had significant difference (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the duration of hospitalization and hospitalization costs were significantly less than those of the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Sputum induction technique has a definite effect in the treatment of AECOPD. It can notably alleviate the condition, improve clinical syndrom, thus down-regulate the duration of hospitalization and hospitalization costs, as well as the economic burden of COPD patients.

Key words: sputum induction technique, AECOPD, efficacy, duration of hospitalization