Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease burden, grades and erythrocytosis at a tertiary hospital in western Uganda.

"Conflict of interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participateAll procedures were carried out following accepted hospital standards. The study was given REC number KIU-2022-82 after receiving ethical approval from the Research and Ethics Committee of Kampala International University Western Campus. The Executive Director of Fort Portal Regional-Referral Hospital, on behalf of the hospital administration, also approved the study. Each study participant provided written informed consent. All study participants' confidentiality was guaranteed. Consent for publicationNA (Not Applicable). Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests."

"Funding There was no public or private grant received for this study at any stage of carrying out the study by all authors."