Induced sputum testing in chronic airway disease and the prospects for its development / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

Induced sputum testing is a non-invasive test that reflects the nature and extent of airway inflammation and plays an important role in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of chronic airway diseases. This article outlines the development history of induced sputum technology, introduces the principle and operation of induced sputum technology, evaluates its safety, summarizes the three main test components, elaborates the role of this technology in various chronic airway diseases, such as reflecting the type of airway inflammation, predicting the efficacy of medication, and combining it with transcriptomics to study disease mechanisms, and briefly summarizes its innovations and makes a vision for the future.

Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Coughing Reflex / 神经科学通报·英文版

Breathing is an intrinsic natural behavior and physiological process that maintains life. The rhythmic exchange of gases regulates the delicate balance of chemical constituents within an organism throughout its lifespan. However, chronic airway diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, affect millions of people worldwide. Pathological airway conditions can disrupt respiration, causing asphyxia, cardiac arrest, and potential death. The innervation of the respiratory tract and the action of the immune system confer robust airway surveillance and protection against environmental irritants and pathogens. However, aberrant activation of the immune system or sensitization of the nervous system can contribute to the development of autoimmune airway disorders. Transient receptor potential ion channels and voltage-gated Na+ channels play critical roles in sensing noxious stimuli within the respiratory tract and interacting with the immune system to generate neurogenic inflammation and airway hypersensitivity. Although recent studies have revealed the involvement of nociceptor neurons in airway diseases, the further neural circuitry underlying airway protection remains elusive. Unraveling the mechanism underpinning neural circuit regulation in the airway may provide precise therapeutic strategies and valuable insights into the management of airway diseases.

Drug prescribing pattern in obstructive airway disorders in a tertiary care hospital, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu: A cross-sectional and observational study

Background: The term obstructive airway disorder comprises of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive airway disease (COPD). Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of airways while COPD is disease of alveoli. Asthma is characterized by recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, and nocturnal cough while patients of COPD present with chronic progressive breathlessness and wheezing. International guidelines are established for the management of obstructive airway disorders. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate drug prescribing pattern in bronchial asthma and COPD patients at a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: After obtaining permission from hospital authority and permission from the Institutional Ethics Committee, 54 admitted patients� prescription were screened between period of June 2021 to December 2021. Informed consent taken from the patients and were interviewed for collection of basic data such as name, age, and occupation. The purpose of the observational study was to see whether there is adherence to current practice guidelines of obstructive airway disorders. Data were compiled and tabulated using excel sheet and were presented using percentages and frequencies with necessary graphs and charts. Results: Short acting ?2 agonist (91%) and corticosteroids (59%) were the most prescribed agents in bronchial asthma while corticosteroids (75%) and short acting antimuscarinic agents (78.57%) were most common prescription in COPD patients. The most common antibiotic used for in obstructive airway disease was beta lactam antibiotic-cefotaxime. Conclusion: In obstructive airway disorders, inhalation route was most preferred route as compared to oral, intramuscular, or intravenous route. The preferred antibiotic was cefotaxime.

Quantitative study on the degree of small airway disease and emphysema injury in pulmonary lobes of patients with smoking combined with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on biphasic CT / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To explore the value of biphasic quantitative CT on small airway disease and emphysema injury in patients with smoking combined with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods:A total of 186 male physical examination subjects who underwent biphasic CT and pulmonary function (PFT) examinations in the Affiliated Hospital of Yan′an University from July 2018 to September 2020 were enrolled in this retrospective study. These subjects were divided into 121 smokers with COPD (COPD group), aged 34 to 84 (64±8) years old and 65 smokers without COPD (non-COPD group) aged 34 to 72 (61±5) years old. According to the guidelines of the COPD global initiative, patients in COPD group were divided into Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (GOLD) Ⅰ-Ⅳ grades. The original DICOM data of CT were imported into the "Digital Lung" test and analysis platform. Quantitative parameters of functional small airway disease percentage (fSAD%) and emphysema area percentage (Emph%) of each lobe were calculated. The differences of CT quantitative parameters among non-COPD group and each grade in COPD group were analyzed by One-Way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis H test. The correlation between the smoking index and CT quantitative parameters was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Results:There were significant differences in fSAD% and Emph% of each lobe among non-COPD group and COPD group GOLD Ⅰ-Ⅳ ( P<0.001). Except that the Emph% in right middle lobe of GOLD grade Ⅰ was higher than that of GOLD grade Ⅱ in COPD group, the fSAD% and Emph% in other lobes increased gradually with the increase of GOLD grade in COPD group. The fSAD% and Emph% were larger in the right middle lobe and both upper lobes of COPD group GOLD Ⅰ-Ⅳ. The comparison among each lobe showed that the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.01), except for the fSAD% and Emph% of GOLD Ⅳ ( P=0.395, 0.840). The smoking index was positively correlated with fSAD% and Emph% in each lung lobe. Among them, smoking index was highly correlated with fSAD% in the lower right lobe and Emph% in the lower left lobe ( r=0.474, 0.619, P<0.001). Conclusion:The biphasic quantitative CT can early and sensitively reflect the degree of small airway disease and emphysema injury in smoking combined with COPD, which is of great significance for the early diagnosis and evolution of COPD.

Lung involvement prevalence in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis without known pulmonary disease: a multicentric cross sectional study

Abstract Background: Clinically evident interstitial lung disease (ILD) affects between 10 and 42% of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Airway involvement seems to be even more common. Most of the available evidence comes from studies performed in established RA patients. The aim of our study was to know the prevalence of non-diagnosed lung disease (airway and interstitial involvement) in patients with early RA and look for associated factors. Methods: We designed an observational, multicenter, cross-sectional study, and included patients with RA of less than two years since diagnosis. We performed a structured questionnaire, HRCT and lung functional tests looking for lung disease, together with joint disease evaluation. We analyzed which variables were associated with the presence of lung disease on HRCT. Results: We included 83 patients, 83% females. The median (IQR) of time since RA diagnosis was 3 (1-6) months. In the HRCT, 57 patients had airway compromisea (72%), and 6 had interstitial abnormalities (7.5%). The most common altertion found in lung functional tests was a reduced DLCO (14%). The presence of at least one abnormality in the physical exam was associated with lung involvement on HRCT [13 (21.6%) vs 0 (0%); p = 0.026]. Also, patients with lung involvement presented significantly lower values of FVC% and DLCO%, and higher values of RV/TLC. No variable related to joint involvement was found associated with alterations in HRCT. Conclusion: Our study shows that a large proportion of early RA patients has abnormal findings in HRCT. Further studies are required to confirm these findings.

Acute-phase protein concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from healthy horses / Proteínas de fase aguda do lavado broncoalveolar de equinos hígidos

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was analyzed to obtain information on leakage of acute-phase proteins from the blood into the respiratory lumen and about local synthesis. Ceruloplasmin, transferrin, albumin, α1-antitripsin, immunoglobulin G heavy, immunoglobulin G light, immunoglobulin A, haptoglobin, acidic glycoprotein, and P23 were measured in BALF from 30 horses without inflammatory disease by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). In serum, the same proteins were identified except for α1-antitrypsin. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) can be used for the determination of acute-phase proteins in BALF samples from horses. In healthy horses, the values are very low, but they can be compared with reference values to assist in the diagnosis of animals with respiratory diseases.(AU)

O líquido obtido através da lavagem broncoalveolar (LBA) foi analisado para obter informações sobre as proteínas da fase aguda. Ceruloplasmina, transferrina, albumina, α1-antitripsina, imunoglobulina G pesada, imunoglobulina G leve, imunoglobulina A, haptoglobina, glicoproteína ácida e P23 foram medidas nos LBA de 30 cavalos sem doença inflamatória por eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida com dodecilsulfato de sódio (SDS-PAGE). No soro, as mesmas proteínas foram identificadas, exceto a α1-antitripsina. Em conclusão, este estudo demonstra que a eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida (SDS-PAGE) pode ser usada para a determinação de proteínas de fase aguda em amostras de LBA em cavalos. Em cavalos saudáveis, os valores são muito baixos, no entanto, podem ser comparados e auxiliar no diagnóstico de animais com doenças respiratórias.(AU)

Classification, diagnosis of reversibility and severity assessment of patients having respiratory distress based on pulmonary function test

Introduction: Pulmonary function testing is the gold standard for physicians to diagnose and manage respiratory problems. An obstructive defect is indicated by low forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) ratio, defined as less than 0.7 or below the fifth percentile. If an obstructive defect is present, the physician should determine if the disease is reversible based on the increase in FEV1 or FVC after bronchodilator treatment (i.e., increase of more than 12% and 200 ml in adults). An FVC below the fifth percentile indicates a restrictive pattern based on NHANES III data in adults. If both the FEV1/FVC ratio and the FVC are low, the patient has a mixed defect. Method: A total of 60 patients having respiratory distress, who attended chest OPD underwent a pulmonary function test. Results: In this study out of 60 patients, 32 patients had obstructive airway diseases with low FEV1/FVC (53.33%), 8 of them (13.33%) had restrictive lung diseases, ten patients(16.66%) had mixed features and rest ten patients(16.66%) had normal spirometry. Among those 32 patients of obstructive features, 22 (68.75%) had reversible airway diseases. Severity was measured among the other ten non-reversible obstructive patients according to the GOLD criteria. Conclusion: Pulmonary function test is the fundamental first-line investigation to diagnose obstructive and restrictive lung diseases and also to differentiate between reversible and non-reversible obstruction. It is also a vital tool for determining the severity among non-reversible obstructive airway patients.

Small airway disease in COPD associated to biomass exposure

Abstract Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex and heterogeneous entity that may result from different causative agents and risk factors and may follow diverse clinical courses, including COPD secondary to biomass smoke exposure. At present, this phenotype is becoming more important for two reasons: first, because at least almost half of the world’s population is exposed to biomass smoke, and second, because the possibility of it being diagnosed is increasing. Biomass smoke exposure COPD affects primarily women and is related with insults to the airways occurred during early life. Although constituents of biomass smoke and tobacco smoke are similar, the physiopathological changes they induce differ depending not only on the chemical composition (related with the type of fuel used) but also on the particle size and the inhalation pattern. Evidence has shown that biomass smoke exposure affects the airway, predominantly the small airways causing anthracofibrosis and peribronchiolar fibrosis changes that will clinically translate into chronic bronchitis symptoms, with a high impact on the quality of life. In this review, we focus especially on the main epidemiological and clinical differences between COPD secondary to biomass exposure and COPD caused by tobacco exposure.

Structural and Functional Features on Quantitative Chest Computed Tomography in the Korean Asian versus the White American Healthy Non-Smokers

OBJECTIVE: Considering the different prevalence rates of diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Asians relative to other races, Koreans may have unique airway structure and lung function. This study aimed to investigate unique features of airway structure and lung function based on quantitative computed tomography (QCT)-imaging metrics in the Korean Asian population (Koreans) as compared with the White American population (Whites). MATERIALS AND METHODS: QCT data of healthy non-smokers (223 Koreans vs. 70 Whites) were collected, including QCT structural variables of wall thickness (WT) and hydraulic diameter (Dh) and functional variables of air volume, total air volume change in the lung (ΔVair), percent emphysema-like lung (Emph%), and percent functional small airway disease-like lung (fSAD%). Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to compare the two groups. RESULTS: As compared with Whites, Koreans had smaller volume at inspiration, ΔVair between inspiration and expiration (p < 0.001), and Emph% at inspiration (p < 0.001). Especially, Korean females had a decrease of ΔVair in the lower lobes (p < 0.001), associated with fSAD% at the lower lobes (p < 0.05). In addition, Koreans had smaller Dh and WT of the trachea (both, p < 0.05), correlated with the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (R = 0.49, 0.39; all p < 0.001) and forced vital capacity (R = 0.55, 0.45; all p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Koreans had unique features of airway structure and lung function as compared with Whites, and the difference was clearer in female individuals. Discriminating structural and functional features between Koreans and Whites enables exploration of inter-racial differences of pulmonary disease in terms of severity, distribution, and phenotype.

Clinical application of exhaled nitric oxide in children with upper airway diseases / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

The exhaled air of healthy people contains nitric oxide.Under the physiological condition, nasal nitric oxide(NNO) comes primarily from the sinuses, a little is produced in the nasal mucosa.Fractional exhaled nitric oxide is mainly from the trachea and bronchus.When airway diseases occur, it can influence the concentration of exhaled nitric oxide.Therefore, with the continuous improvement of technology in recent years, the measurement of NNO has been widely used in upper airway diseases of children.It is characteristics of quantitative, non-invasive, simple and safe.This article reviews the measurement methods of NNO and its clinical application in children upper airway diseases such as rhinitis, sinusitis, nasal polyps and adenoid hypertrophy.

Early diagnosis of COPD and quantitative evaluation of lung function by CT using a voxel-based morphometry / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

Objective: To improve the time window of early diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and make quantitative evaluation of lung function using the voxel-based quantitative CT. Methods: Early COPD and COPD patients who had received inspiratory and expiratory CT scanning were consecutively recruited from the multi-center study named Digital Lung. Quantitative parameters of functional small-airway disease (fSAD) and emphysema (Emph) were measured. For the all COPD patients, Pearson correlation analysis or Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to test the correlation between the quantitative measurements of CT and pulmonary function. Results: Finally, 37 patients with early COPD and 50 patients with COPD were included. The mean value of Emph in early COPD was (3.50±3.36)% and the average value of fSAD was (18.12±12.73)%. Meanwhile, the mean value of Emph in COPD patients was (13.46±9.03)% and the mean value of fSAD was (36.57±9.88)%. Emph was negatively correlated with FEV1% and FEV1/FVC (r=-0.470, P=0.001; r=-0.334, P=0.018), respectively. fSAD was negatively correlated with FEV1% and FEV1/FVC (r=-0.453, P=0.001; r=-0.320, P=0.001). Conclusion: The voxel-based quantitative CT is helpful in early detection of small airway injury in early COPD with respiratory symptoms but no pulmonary function can be achieved.

Precision medicine for the best treatment of chronic obstructive airway disease

Bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are 2 representative diseases of chronic obstructive inflammatory airway diseases, and both show a wide range of heterogeneity in their clinical features. Although one end of typical asthma and the other end of COPD are clearly different, both diseases share lots of similarities in biological aspects and clinical manifestations. Currently, 2 different guidelines exist for asthma and COPD management, respectively, and in many clinical situations it is not easy to manage patients especially who have both features and show refractoriness to available medications. Since the features of the diseases are remarkably diverse in terms of clinical courses, prognosis and responses to therapeutic drugs, there have been vigorous efforts to classify appropriate subtypes in order to improve management of the diseases. However, dichotomous thinking about asthma and COPD precludes precise classification of the diseases in the real world. In this article, thus, chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD) ranging from asthma particularly in adults to COPD is proposed as 1 target subject to analyze precise classification based on exact phenotyping and endotyping of the diseases. In the current article, the reasonable precision medicine approach is also suggested based on treatable traits of COAD to achieve the best treatment for COAD patients.

Practice of Management Mode of Long-term Medication Safety Assessment for Chronic Airway Disease Patients Established by Pharmacists Team of Medical Consortium / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To provide reference for pharmacists to participate in the management of chronic disease. METHODS:A total of 259 patients with chronic airway disease [included asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)] met the inclusion criteria were selected from our hospital and 5 community health care centers of medical consortium. These patients received medication safety assessment management,which was led by clinical pharmacists of our hospital with the participation of community pharmacists,including medication safety comprehensive evaluation and risk classification management, follow-up and medication guidance, integrated prescriptions checking, establishment of shared database. 1 years after the implementation,the effectiveness were evaluated by score the relatived indicators in related groups. RESULTS:After a year of the management mode practice,compared with before intervention,the patients'safety medication cognitive ability score in high-risk and low-risk group increased from(4.49±1.26)and(7.31±1.01)to(5.40±1.56)and(7.44±0.91);medication adherence score increased from(4.96±1.21)and(7.08±1.24)to(6.66±1.08)and(7.38±0.98);ACT score from asthma patients increased from (16.15±2.58)and(21.15±1.03)to(16.80±2.57)and(21.64±1.55);CAT score from COPD patients decreased from(25.51± 4.07) and (14.90 ± 3.95) to (24.20 ± 3.96) and (13.80 ± 4.08);the rate of irrational prescription effective identification and intervention by pharmacists increased from 3.6％ and 1.4％ to 9.4％ and 7.6％,respectively. All the differences above were statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:The participation of pharmacists in long-term medication safety assessment management for chronic airway disease patients can improve patients'safety medication cognitive ability,medication adherence, disease control and the pharmacists'ability of irrational drug use identification and intervention.

Impact of allergic airway diseases on risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in school-age children / 中华儿科杂志

Objective@#To investigate the impact of allergic airway diseases on the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in school-age children.@*Method@#Used stratified cluster sampling method, school-age children in first to sixth grade in primary schools in 9 randomly selected cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi′an, and Wuhan were enrolled in the study. Interview of parents with questionnaires, which included school-age individual and family social environment questionnaire (including history of diagnosed ADHD, allergic rhinitis, and bronchial asthma) and Children′s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), were finished and collected during November to December in 2005.Diagnosed allergic rhinitis and asthma by specialist were independent variables and divided into following three categories as no allergic diseases (neither allergic rhinitis nor asthma), single allergic disease (allergic rhinitis or asthma), and combined allergic diseases (allergic rhinitis and asthma). Diagnosed ADHD as dependent variable, binary logistic regress model was used to analyze the risks of ADHD in school-age children.@*Result@#Totally 23 791 questionnaires were handed out, while 22 018 were collected. The children had an average age of (8.8±1.8) years, within which 10 869 were male, and 11 021 were female. The risk ratios of ADHD were 2.197 (95%CI: 1.823-2.648) and 3.150 (95%CI: 2.082-4.760) in children with single allergic disease and combined allergic diseases separately. There was no significant difference after adjusting for the factor of sleep habits, as the risk ratios were 2.055 (95%CI: 1.683-2.508) and 3.140 (95%CI: 2.061-4.784) in children with single and combined allergic airway disease separately.@*Conclusion@#Allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma increased the risk of ADHD, not depending on sleep habits. Hence, allergic airway diseases could be independent risk factors of ADHD.

Are pulmonary hemostasis and fibrinolysis out of balance in equine chronic pneumopathies?

Clinical examination, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology, acute-phase protein, and pulmonary hemostasis and fibrinolysis marker (fibrinogen, serum amyloid A [SAA], and D-dimer) results were compared between control and respiratory disease-affected horses. Using a clinical scoring system, horses (n = 58) were classified as respiratory disease-free (Controls, n = 15) or with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO; n = 18), inflammatory airway disease (n = 14) or chronic interstitial pneumopathy (n = 11). There were no significant differences in fibrinogen concentrations among groups, but there was a trend toward a lower value in controls (median 0.0024 g/L) than in horses with chronic pneumopathies (median 0.0052 g/L), in particular, those with RAO (median 0.0062 g/L). Fibrinogen concentration was positively correlated with percentage of neutrophils in BALF (r(s) = 0.377, p = 0.004). SAA concentrations were low; 65.5% of samples were below the detection limit. D-dimer concentrations were also low and quantifiable concentrations were only obtained after ultrafiltration and only in RAO (median 0.1 mg/L). In conclusion, there was limited evidence of increased coagulatory activity in chronic pneumopathies, apart from RAO. It is uncertain whether fibrinogen and D-dimer concentrations increased due to their role as acute-phase proteins or as a misbalance of coagulation and fibrinolysis.

Prediction of Anthracofibrosis Based on Clinico-Radiographic Findings

PURPOSE: Because anthracofibrosis (AF) is associated with tuberculosis (TB), detection of AF is clinically relevant in Korea, a TB endemic region. We thus sought to develop and validate a predictive model for AF using clinical radiographic data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1, 2008 and March 31, 2014, 3849 adult patients who underwent bronchoscopies were retrospectively included from an observational registry. We dichotomized patients based on the presence (n=167) or absence (n=242) of AF. After analyzing their clinico-radiographic characteristics, a logistic prediction model was developed. An area under the curve (AUC) was drawn using the weighted score in logistic regression model. To evaluate the degree of overfitting of the predictive model, a 5-fold cross-validation procedure was performed. RESULTS: In multivariate logistic regression, clinical findings such as age >70 years, female gender, active TB, and computed tomography findings including atelectasis, stenosis, bronchial wall thickening, enlarged and calcified lymph nodes were significant diagnostic predictors for AF. The weighed score had an AUC of 0.939 [95% confidence interval (CI)=0.911–0.960], similar to the AUC obtained from internal validation (AUC=0.926, 95% CI=0.896–0.949). CONCLUSION: The prediction model may be helpful for predicting AF based only on clinical and radiographic findings. However, further external validation is necessary.

Differential Diagnosis of Chronic Coughing

Cough, the most common symptom, encountered in the outpatient clinic can be caused by various underlying diseases. It defines as chronic cough that the duration of cough is more than 8 weeks with a normal chest X-ray findings. The cause of cough can be found out for more than 90% through the appropriate diagnostic approach and Upper airway cough syndrome, Asthma and Gastroesophageal reflex disease are the most common causes of disease to non-smokers. Chronic cough can be due to not one reason but various reasons and achieve good results by a systematic approach to diagnosis and a concrete treatment on the basis of the sufficient understanding of the underlying disease.

Humidifier disinfectants, unfinished stories

Once released into the air, humidifier disinfectants became tiny nano-size particles, and resulted in chemical bronchoalveolitis. Families had lost their most beloved members, and even some of them became broken. Based on an estimate of two million potential victims who had experienced adverse effects from the use of humidifier disinfectants, we can say that what we have observed was only the tip of the iceberg. Problems of entire airways, as well as other systemic effects, should be examined, as we know these nano-size particles can irritate cell membranes and migrate into systemic circulation. The story of humidifier disinfectant is not finished yet.

Systemic Inflammation in Older Adults With Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome

PURPOSE: The role of systemic inflammation on asthma-COPD overlap syndrome is unknown. This study aimed to examine systemic inflammation in asthma-COPD overlap syndrome, and to identify associations between clinical characteristics and inflammatory mediators in asthma-COPD overlap syndrome. METHODS: In 108 adults older than 55 years comprising healthy controls (n=29), asthma (n=16), COPD (n=21) and asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (n=42), serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) were assayed. Spirometry, induced sputum, quality of life, comorbidities and medications were assessed, and their associations with asthma-COPD overlap syndrome were analyzed using logistic regression. Associations between systemic inflammatory mediators and clinical characteristics were tested in multivariate linear regression models. RESULTS: Patients with asthma-COPD overlap syndrome had significantly elevated IL-6 levels compared with healthy controls and asthmatics. Age, comorbidity index and IL-6 level were independently associated with asthma-COPD overlap syndrome. FEV1% predicted was inversely associated with IL-6 level, and cardiovascular disease was associated with an increased IL-6 level. Systemic markers were not associated with airway inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Systemic inflammation is commonly present in asthma-COPD overlap syndrome, and asthma-COPD overlap syndrome resembled COPD in terms of systemic inflammation. IL-6 is a pivotal inflammatory mediator that may be involved in airflow obstruction and cardiovascular disease and may be an independent treatment target.

Systemic Inflammation in Older Adults With Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome

PURPOSE: The role of systemic inflammation on asthma-COPD overlap syndrome is unknown. This study aimed to examine systemic inflammation in asthma-COPD overlap syndrome, and to identify associations between clinical characteristics and inflammatory mediators in asthma-COPD overlap syndrome. METHODS: In 108 adults older than 55 years comprising healthy controls (n=29), asthma (n=16), COPD (n=21) and asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (n=42), serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) were assayed. Spirometry, induced sputum, quality of life, comorbidities and medications were assessed, and their associations with asthma-COPD overlap syndrome were analyzed using logistic regression. Associations between systemic inflammatory mediators and clinical characteristics were tested in multivariate linear regression models. RESULTS: Patients with asthma-COPD overlap syndrome had significantly elevated IL-6 levels compared with healthy controls and asthmatics. Age, comorbidity index and IL-6 level were independently associated with asthma-COPD overlap syndrome. FEV1% predicted was inversely associated with IL-6 level, and cardiovascular disease was associated with an increased IL-6 level. Systemic markers were not associated with airway inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Systemic inflammation is commonly present in asthma-COPD overlap syndrome, and asthma-COPD overlap syndrome resembled COPD in terms of systemic inflammation. IL-6 is a pivotal inflammatory mediator that may be involved in airflow obstruction and cardiovascular disease and may be an independent treatment target.