ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the changes of peripheral blood Th17/Treg and serum cytokines in AECOPD patients with secondary pulmonary fungal infection.Methods:Selected the clinical data of 27 AECOPD patients who were admitted between January 2018 to March 2020 in the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hai'an People's Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University with fungal infection (fungal infection group), and 58 AECOPD patients without fungal infection (non-fungal infection group) who received treatment in the hospital during the same period. Compared the general clinical data, peripheral blood Th17 and Treg cell levels, Th17/Treg ratio, interleukin-17 (IL-17), interleukin-23 (IL-23), interferon-γ (interferon-γ, IFN-γ), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) levels. Meanwhile, compared the levels of Th17 and Treg cells in peripheral blood, the ratio of Th17/Treg and serum cytokines in patients with different infection severity in fungal infection group. The measurement data with normal distribution were compared by independent samplet t-test between the two groups, one-way ANOVA between multiple groups, LSD-t test for pairwise comparision, and χ 2 test for counting data. Results:In the 27 AECOPD patients with fungal infection group, the pathogen distribution was 65.52% (19/27) of candida albicans, 10.34% (3/27) of candida tropicalis,10.34% (3/27) of candida albicans, and 6.90% (2/27) of Aspergillus. The level of Th17 [(16.18±3.15) % and (12.34±2.64) %, t=5.87, P<0.001)], the ratio of Th17/Treg [(4.70±0.85) and (2.41±0.51), t=22.87, P<0.001] in Patients with fungal infection group were higher than those in the non-fungal group. The level of Treg [(3.42±0.42) % and (5.13±0.51) %, t=20.77, P<0.001] in Patients with fungal infection group was lower than those in the non-fungal group. The levels of IL-17 [(85.67±21.51) μg/L and (53.64±14.36) μg/L, t= 8.12, P<0.001], and IL-23 [(61.38±16.58) μg/L and (38.29±12.60) μg/L, t=7.10, P<0.001] in Patients with fungal infection group were higher than those in non-fungal infection group, but the levels of IFN-γ ((47.75±17.72) μg/L and (62.37±19.06) μg/L, t=3.37, P=0.001) and TGF-β ((110.34±26.03) μg/L and (131.40±35.03) μg/L, t=2.87, P=0.007) were lower than those in non-fungal infection group, and the differences were statistically significant. There were statistically significant differences in the ratio of Th17/Treg, and the levels of Th17, Treg cells and cytokine among patients with different infection severity in the fungal infection group. With the increase of infection severity, the levels of Th17 ((13.06±1.98)%, (15.94±2.11)%, (17.75±2.20)%, F=10.19, P<0.001), the ratios of Th17/Treg ((5.01±0.60), (5.66±0.69), (6.52±0.65), F=10.77, P<0.001), the levels of IL-17 ((63.39±11.64) μg/L,(78.66±12.82) μg/L, F=9.01, P=0.001), and IL-23 ((42.52±13.11) μg/L, (59.97±15.25) μg/L, (69.75±14.30) μg/L, F=7.41, P=0.003) were increase, the levels of Treg ((4.33±0.39)%, (3.32±0.42)%, (2.50±0.35)%, F=44.42, P<0.001), IFN-γ ((57.78±10.52) μg/L, (48.82±10.39) μg/L, (38.90±10.56) μg/L, F=6.50, P=0.006), TGF-β ((126.62±18.94) μg/L, (115.34±13.66) μg/L, (102.52±17.73) μg/L, F=4.25, P=0.026) were significantly decreased. Conclusion:The imbalance of Th17/Treg ratio and related serum cytokines play an important role in the process of lung fungal infection in AECOPD patients, and their imbalance is related to the severity of fungal infection. Therefore, the levels of Th17/Treg and serum cytokines should be closely monitored in AECOPD patients.
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Objective To explore the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of bronchial asthma in people over 40 years old in Hai'an. Methods The stratified random sampling method was used in this study. A questionnaire survey was conducted and pulmonary function measurement was performed among the residents over 40 years old in Hai'an, Jiangsu Province to analyze the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of asthma. Results A total of 2 237 valid questionnaires were collected in the survey, and 116 patients with bronchial asthma were found, with an incidence rate of 5.19%. The prevalence of asthma was related to gender, age, family history, active and passive smoking, occupational exposure, childhood history of lung disease, history of respiratory allergies, and exposure to cooking fumes (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that being male (OR=0.637, 95%CI: 0.499~0.691) was a protective factor for asthma, while advanced age (OR=1.438, 95%CI: 1.207~1.972), active smoking (OR=1.795, 95%CI: 1.423~2.399), passive smoking (OR=2.098, 95%CI: 1.423~2.399), occupational exposure (OR=3.446, 95% CI: 2.175~6.290), childhood history of lung disease (OR=2.228, 95%CI: 1.337~4.491), history of respiratory allergies (OR=2.287, 95%CI: 1.535~5.219) were risk factors for asthma (P<0.05). Conclusion The prevalence rate of bronchial asthma in people over 40 years old in Hai'an was high. Advanced age, active and passive smoking, occupational exposure, a history of lung disease in childhood, and a history of respiratory allergies were related to asthma development. It is necessary to strengthen the prevention and treatment of asthma among high-risk population in clinical practice to reduce the incidence of asthma.
ABSTRACT
Objective To discuss the expression and significance of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio(NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio(PLR) in peripheral blood in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods One hundred and fifty cases COPD patients who were treated in Respiratory Departments of Hai'an People′s Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University from January to December 2015 were selected and divided into stable period group with 60 cases and acute exacerbation period group with 90 cases,and 50 healthy subjects were selected as control group.Clinical data were collected and white blood cell count(WBC),neutrophil count(NC),lymphocyte count(LC),platelet(PLT),NLR,PLR,forced expiratory volume in one second(FEV1%) predicted and C reactive protein(CRP) were tested.Results NLR,PLR and CRP values were significantly higher in patients in acute exacerbation period group than in stable period group and control group(NLR:(10.30±9.93) vs.(6.76±5.90) vs.(5.85±3.67);PLR:(335.88±164.94) vs.(286.80±118.98) vs.(194.11±88.14);CRP: (42.18±24.89) mg/L vs.(23.27±13.59) mg/L vs.(22.49±13.47) mg/L,F=6.637,6.808,11.007,P0.05).There was a significant positive correlation between NLR,PLR and CRP in acute exacerbation period group(r=0.374,0.379,P<0.01),there was a positive correlation between NLR and PLR(r=0.482,P<0.01),there was a negative correlation between NLR,PLR and FEV1(r=-0.297,-0.299,P<0.05).There was a significant positive correlation between NLR,PLR and CRP in table period group(r=0.593,0.433,P<0.01),NLR and PLR were also positively correlated(r=0.618,P<0.01),NLR,PLR and FEV1 accounted for the expected value of the negative correlation(r=-0.324,-0.342,P<0.05).Conclusion Both NLR and PLR are inflammatory markers,furthermore they show a significant negative correlation to airflow limitation in patients with COPD.