Association between C-reactive protein and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [C-reaktif proteini ile kronik obstrüktif akci?er hastali{dotless}?i{dotless} arasi{dotless}ndaki ilişki]

Abstract

Aim: In this study, we aimed to find out if there is an increase in the C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) and in stable COPD (SCOPD) and to determine the correlation of a possible increase with other markers of inflammation. Material and Method: All patients with AECOPD were also categorized according to radiologic findings. Chest X-rays were evaluated and COPD patients who had new infiltrates, consolidation, air bronkogram were considered to have pneumonia (PCOPD). SCOPD patients without a history of exacerbation for the previous 2 months were recruited prospectively from our outpatient clinic. The pulmonary function test results and the values of arterial blood gas analyses, leukocytes, neutrophils, and CRP measured within 24 hour of admission were obtained from the records of the patients with COPD,. Results: The mean serum CRP level during AECOPD was significantly higher compared to those in the control group and SCOPD patients. The mean CRP level was higher in the SCOPD patients compared to the control group as well. The serum CRP levels were positively correlated with the PaCO2 levels that showed the severity of the attack and negatively correlated with the pH, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC values. Positive correlation between leukocyte count and CRP was detected in all groups except the control group. Discussion: We indicated that there was an association between serum CRP levels and severity of COPD. In COPD exacerbations, leukocyte count and serum CRP levels had a significant positive correlation.