Objective   To investigate the change in proportions of inpatients with respiratory diseases from 1996 to 2003.

  Methods   Inpatients treated in the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College from 1996 to 2003 were subjected to retrospective study.

  Results   During 8 years, the proportion of inpatients with chronic bronchitis was gradually decreased from 27.37% in 1996 to 15.02% in 2003, whereas inpatients with pneumonia, lung cancer or tuberculosis were increased, with their proportions by 11.55%, 9.22%, 3.71% in 1996 and 13.88%, 18.02%, 6.66% in 2003, respectively.Pneumothorax, pulmonary tuberculosis and tubercular pleural effusion were most frequently observed in youth or patients under 40 years old.The proportions of patients with these diseases gradually dropped with age.Conversely, the proportion of patients with chronic bronchitis markedly increased beyond 50 years old, while lung cancer patients increased gently with age with the large part of them in their 60 s.

  Conclusion   The proportions of respiratory inpatients were changed from 1996 to 2003.Currently the most inpatients in department of respiratory medicine suffered from chronic bronchitis, pneumonia or lung cancer.The proportion of tuberculosis increased during this period.Furthermore, the proportions of inpatients with different respiratory diseases were related with age.