A team of researchers in Scotland demonstrated the workings of their recent invention – a risk calculator that uses large electronic databases to predict the risk of death for patients hospitalised for COPD. The researchers,  in a study published online in the journal Pharmacological Research, said they analysed EHR records of 17,973 patients who had an unplanned hospitalisation for COPD in the Glasgow area from 2011 to 2017 to confirm that the risk calculator model achieved a potential accuracy of 80 percent. The research team, led by Dr Pierpalo Pellicori, sought to predict a patient’s risk of dying within 90 days after a hospital stay for COPD. The researchers highlighted the importance of identification of high-risk patients as it will help prioritise medical care likewise.