Outcomes of Peripheral Blood Eosinophilia in Hospitalized Exacerbations of COPD

Abstract

he Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines define COPD as a disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible, is usually progressive, and is associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to inhaled noxious particles or gases. An acute exacerbation is defined as the acute worsening for the patient’s baseline of dyspnea, cough and sputum production which is the hallmark of the symptoms of the disease and is associated an increase in inflammatory markers that results in the reduction of lung function tests. In pathophysiological mechanisms of acute exacerbation, there are numerous and various types of inflammatory cells that participate in the pathological entity of the disease. The predominant inflammatory cells are neutrophils, lymphocytes, macrophages, and eosinophils. Those inflammatory cells recruit and destroy lung parenchyma, which results in the clinical features of COPD.