Hematological and Inflammatory Biomarkers among Stable COPD and Acute Exacerbations of COPD Patients

Objectives: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is heterogeneous in nature. Acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) is diagnosed clinically which is subjective and clinical judgment may vary from clinician to clinician. Since chronic inflammation underlies the pathogenesis of COPD, markers of inflammation have generated lot of interest for their potential to be used as biomarkers of COPD. This study aimed to assess the variation in levels of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet indices in patients with stable COPD and acute exacerbation of COPD patients and its association with GOLD stages. Methods: This prospective analytical study was carried out in our tertiary care hospital from December 2018 to July 2020. About 64 subjects (32- stable COPD, 32- AECOPD) who satisfied study criteria were included. Blood sample was taken from stable and AECOPD patients and were compared. Results: It was observed that Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio, Platelet Distribution Width, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate and C-Reactive Protein were increased in AECOPD patients when compared with stable COPD patients which was statistically significant with p value of <0.001. A positive correlation was observed between Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio, Platelet Distribution Width and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, C-Reactive Protein which was statistically significant with p value of <0.001. Conclusion: We found that neutrophil lymphocyte ratio and platelet distribution width values increased significantly in AECOPD patients when compared to stable COPD patients. Keywords: AECOPD; COPD; Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio; Platelet Distribution Width