Can we predict the prognosis of COPD with a routine blood test?

• Published in: International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 2017-01, Vol.12, p.615-625
• Main Authors: Xiong, Wei, Xu, Mei, Zhao, Yunfeng, Wu, Xueling, Pudasaini, Bigyan, Liu, Jin-Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - blood; Blood Chemical Analysis; Blood tests; Cancer; Care and treatment; China; Chronic obstructive lung disease; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COPD; Development and progression; Diagnostic Tests, Routine; Disease Progression; Enrollments; eosinophil to basophil ratio; Evaluation; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume; Health care; Hospitals; Humans; Inflammation; Inflammation Mediators - blood; Lung - physiopathology; Lymphocyte Count; Lymphocytes; Male; Medical care quality; Medical prognosis; Methods; Middle Aged; Mortality; neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio; Neutrophils; Original Research; Patients; Predictive Value of Tests; Prognosis; Prospective Studies; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - blood; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - diagnosis; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - mortality; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - physiopathology; Reproducibility of Results; Respiratory Function Tests; Risk Factors; routine blood test; Severity of Illness Index; Vital Capacity
• ISSN: 1178-2005; 1176-9106; 1178-2005
• DOI: 10.2147/COPD.S124041

The major characteristic of COPD is systemic inflammation. The parameters such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and eosinophil-to-basophil ratio (EBR) in routine blood test (RBT) are considered to be the underlying biomarkers of inflammation. We hypothesized that the prognosis of patients with COPD can be predicted with RBT. Patients with COPD in stable stage were enrolled. The RBT, pulmonary function testing (PFT), BODE index, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were performed at enrollment and every follow-up once in every 3 months during the 24-month follow-up period. Meanwhile, exacerbation count and mortality incidence were recorded. The correlation between the prognostic biomarkers and the prognosis of patients was analyzed. The NLR and EBR in RBT have a significant correlation with the severity of patients with COPD. The NLR is an independent predictor for mortality and the EBR is an independent predictor for exacerbation. As an inexpensive, accessible, and convenient assay, RBT may be used as a practical means in the prediction of prognosis of patients with COPD in future clinical settings.