Prognostic Usefulness of Basic Analytical Data in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbation

Introduction

COPD causes high morbidity and mortality and high health costs. Thus, identifying and analyzing the distinctive and treatable traits seems useful to optimize the management of AEPOC patients. While various biomarkers have been researched, no solid data for systematic use have been made available.

Aim

Assessing the short-term prognostic usefulness of clinical and analytical parameters available in routine clinical practice in COPD exacerbations.

Material and methods

Multicenter prospective observational study conducted between 2016 and 2018. Patients admitted for COPD exacerbation who agreed to participate and signed an informed consent form were included. Prolonged stay, in-hospital mortality or early readmission was considered an unfavorable progression. 30-Day mortality was also analyzed.

Results

615 patients were included. Mean age was 73.9 years (SD 10.6); 86.2% were male. Progression of 357 patients (58%) was considered unfavorable. Mortality at 1 month from discharge was 6.7%. The multivariate analysis shows a relationship between the CRP/Albumin ratio and unfavorable progression (OR 1.008, 95% CI 1.00; 1.01), as well as increased risk of death at 1 month from discharge with elevated urea (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.005; 1.02) and troponin T (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.06; 4.62).

Conclusion

Elevated CRP/Albumin, urea and TnT are prognostic indicators of poor short-term outcome in patients admitted for COPD exacerbation. Cardiovascular comorbidity and systemic inflammation could explain these findings.

Variability of blood eosinophil count and prognosis of COPD exacerbations

BACKGROUND

Eosinophils in peripheral blood are one of the emerging biomarkers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, when analysing the relationship between peripheral eosinophilia and COPD prognosis, highly variable results are obtained. The aim of our study is to describe the serum eosinophilia levels in COPD patients and to analyse their relationship to prognosis following hospital admission.

METHODS

A prospective observational study was conducted from 1 October 2016 to 1 October 2018 in the following Spanish centres: Salnés County Hospital in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Arquitecto Marcide Hospital in Ferrol and the University Hospital Complex in Santiago de Compostela. The patients were classified using three cut-off points of blood eosinophil count (BEC): 150 cells/µL, 300 cells/µL, and 400 cells/µL; in addition, the peripheral BEC was analysed on admission.

RESULTS

615 patients were included in the study, 86.2% male, mean age 73.9 years, and mean FEV1 52.7%. The mean stay was 8.4 days, and 6% of all patients were readmitted early. No significant relationship was observed between the BEC, neither in the stable phase nor in the acute phase, and hospital stay, readmissions, deaths during admission, the need for intensive care, or the condition of frequent exacerbator.

CONCLUSION

The results of our study do not seem to support the usefulness of BEC as a COPD biomarker.KEY MESSAGESThere is evidence that BEC participates in pathophysiological mechanisms of the COPD.BEC may be useful as a biomarker in COPD for aspects such as the optimization of treatments.We did not find any relationship between BEC levels and prognosis following hospital admission for AECOPD.

Impact of Hyponatremia on COPD Exacerbation Prognosis

The most common electrolyte disorder among hospitalized patients, hyponatremia is a predictor of poor prognosis in various diseases. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of hyponatremia in patients admitted for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), as well as its association with poor clinical progress. Prospective observational study carried out from 1 October 2016 to 1 October 2018 in the following hospitals: Salnés in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Arquitecto Marcide in Ferrol, and the University Hospital Complex of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, on patients admitted for AECOPD. Patient baseline treatment was identified, including hyponatremia-inducing drugs. Poor progress was defined as follows: prolonged stay, death during hospitalization, or readmission within one month after the index episode discharge. 602 patients were enrolled, 65 cases of hyponatremia (10.8%) were recorded, all of a mild nature (mean 131.6; SD 2.67). Of all the patients, 362 (60%) showed poor progress: 18 (3%) died at admission; 327 (54.3%) had a prolonged stay; and 91 (15.1%) were readmitted within one month after discharge. Patients with hyponatremia had a more frequent history of atrial fibrillation (AF) (p 0.005), pleural effusion (p 0.01), and prolonged stay (p 0.01). The factors independently associated with poor progress were hyponatremia, pneumonia, and not receiving home O₂ treatment prior to admission. Hyponatremia is relatively frequent in patients admitted for AECOPD, and it has important prognostic implications, even when mild in nature.