Identifying clinically important COPD sub-types using data-driven approaches in primary care population based electronic health records

摘要

BackgroundCOPD is a highly heterogeneous disease composed of different phenotypes with different aetiological and prognostic profiles and current classification systems do not fully capture this heterogeneity. In this study we sought to discover, describe and validate COPD subtypes using cluster analysis on data derived from electronic health records.