Abstract
Background: Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), sputum eosinophilia, and bronchial reversibility are often thought to be a hallmark of asthma, yet it has been shown to occur in COPD as well. Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between BHR, lung function, and airway inflammation in COPD patients. Methods: Thirty-one, steroid-free patients with stable, mild and moderate COPD were studied. The following tests were carried out: baseline lung function, reversibility, provocative dose of methacholine causing a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 second, a COPD symptom score, and sputum induction. Results: Twenty-nine patients completed the procedures. About 41.4% had BHR, 31.0% had increased sputum eosinophils, and 37.9% had bronchial reversibility. Some of the patients had only one of these characteristics while others had two or the three of them. Patients with BHR had higher sputum eosinophils than patients without BHR (P=0.046) and those with sputum eosinophils ≥3% had more exacerbations in the previous year and a higher COPD symptom score than patients with sputum eosinophils
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1155-1161 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | International Journal of COPD |
Volume | 10 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 17 2015 |
Keywords
- COPD
- Exacerbations
- Hyperreactivity
- Methacholine
- Sputum eosinophilia
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Health Policy