Objectives: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disease characterized low-grade inflammation and variable disease progression, though currently available approach (pulmonary and radiological analysis) to diagnose subtype and severity of disease are beneficial yet potential inflammatory biomarkers can aid in precise prediction of severity of disease which can help to categorize patients for interventions and can lead to better utilization of resources and improve outcome. Our study investigates that biomarkers, when combined with clinical variables, may be useful to predict subtypes, disease severity, disease progression, and morbidity in COPD patients. Materials and Methods: Serum inflammatory markers (interleukin-6 IL-6, C-reactive protein CRP, ferritin) were analyzed in COPD patients, and they were categorized into four groups based on disease severity (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease standard guidelines). Statistical analysis: One-way analysis of variance and Tukey honestly significant difference post hoc test were applied to determine whether these biomarkers were predictive of disease severity, disease progression, or morbidity. Results: A total of 115 COPD patients were recruited and categorized into mild (16), moderate (23), severe (42), and very severe (34), based on forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1%). Serum levels of inflammatory markers IL-6, CRP, and ferritin showed potential differentiating ability between stages and severity of COPD. Levels of inflammatory markers are strongly correlated with FEV1%. Conclusions: Patients with increasing severity of COPD had a significantly higher serum inflammatory marker level. A negative correlation was observed between various serum inflammatory markers and FEV1%.
Patidar et al. (Sat,) studied this question.