Evaluation of the Characteristics of Asthma in Severe and Extremely Severe COPD

Feng-jia Chen,* Geng-peng Lin,* Xin-yan Huang, Yang-li Liu, Zhi-min Zeng, Yu-biao Guo Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yu-biao GuoDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Institute of Respiratory Diseases of Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 58 Zhongshan 2nd Road, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 20 8775 5766Email huxineikegyb@163.comBackground: Biotherapy for asthma may be useful in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with asthma characteristics. Therefore, the evaluation and close monitoring of asthma characteristics in severe and extremely severe COPD can guide treatment decisions to improve prognosis.Methods: Stable patients suffering from COPD and having a forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1%) of ≤50% (GOLD 3–4) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from December 2014 to June 2018 were retrospectively enrolled in this study and evaluated in terms of their asthma characteristics (blood eosinophil counts, fractional exhaled NO [FeNO] values, and reversibility).Results: A total of 178 patients with an average age of 65.62±9.28 years were enrolled in this study. A total of 85 patients had an improvement of ≥12% in FEV1%, and 61 of these patients had an absolute increase of >200 mL. Of 122 patients, 68 had blood eosinophil counts of ≥150 cells/μl, whereas 27 showed blood eosinophil counts ≥300 cells/μl. The blood eosinophil of ≥2% was found in 66/122 (54.10%) patients, whereas ≥3% was found in 51/122 (41.80%) patients. A total of 46 of 58 patients had an increased serum IgE level of ≥30 IU/mL, and 32 patients had an IgE of ≥100 IU/mL.