Objective To determine if the levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ( hs-CRP)and fibrinogen ( Fbg) can predict the risk of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD) . Methods hs-CRP was measured by latex-enhanced immunoturbidimetric assay and Fbg was assessed by Von Clauss method. The number of exacerbations was recorded during a 6-month follow-up period. Results Fifty patients with stable COPD were enrolled in the study, of whom48 patients completed the trial and two patients dropped out. During the follow-up, 16 patients had once or more acute exacerbations while other 32 patients had no acute exacerbation. The patients were stratified into two groups ( A-exacerbation, B-no exacerbation) . At the baseline, the patients of the group A had lower FEV1 than thegroup B [ ( 1. 1 ±0. 4) L vs. ( 1. 4 ±0. 5) L, P lt;0. 05] . And the group A had higher hs-CRP and Fbg than the group B [ hs-CRP: ( 4. 6 ±3. 3) mg/L vs. 4. 3 mg/L( IQR 5. 5 mg/L) , P lt;0. 05] ; Fbg: ( 3. 8 ±0. 7) g/L vs. ( 3. 1 ±0. 5) g/L, P lt;0. 05] . Nine of 16 patients with a higher level of hs-CRP( hs-CRP gt;3 mg/L) had acute exacerbations. Seven of other 32 patients with normal hs-CRP level had acute exacerbations. The difference in the acute exacerbations rate between the two groups was significant ( 56. 25% vs. 21. 88% , P lt;0. 05) . All four patients with a higher level of Fbg( Fbg gt;4 g/L) had acute exacerbations. Twelve of 44 patients with normal Fbg level ( Fbg≤4 g/L) had acute exacerbations. The patients with Fbg more than 4 g/L had a higher rate of acute exacerbations( 100% vs. 27. 27%, P lt;0. 05) . After adjusting by age, bodymass index ( BMI) , FEV1 , tobacco consumption and other chronic diseases, the risk of acute exacerbation in individuals with baseline hs-CRP gt;3 mg/L was 9. 33 times higher than those with baseline hs-CRP≤3 mg/L ( 95% CI 1. 870-46. 573) . Conclusion Higher level of hs-CRP is associated with the high risk of exacerbation in patients with COPD.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the predictive value of the high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). MethodsIn a retrospective cohort study,272 consecutive patients with APE were reviewed and the 30-days death and in-hospital adverse events were evaluated. The patients were classified according to hs-cTnI value into a high hs-cTnI group and a low hs-cTnI group. The simple pulmonary embolism severity index (sPESI) was used for clinical risk determination. The adverse event was defined as intravenous thrombolytic therapy,noninvasive ventilator support to maintain oxygen saturation >90% and suffered with severe complications. The correlations of hs-cTnI with sPESI score,30-days adverse events and mortality were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test were used to compare time-to-event survival. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis models were used to determine the incremental prognostic value of sPESI score and hs-cTnI. ResultsThe incidence of 30-day death (6.1%),renal failure (14.6%),bleeding (13.4%) and thrombolytic therapy (7.9%) were higher in the high hs-cTnI group than those in the low hs-cTnI group (P values were 0.009,<0.001,0.018 and 0.003,respectively). The patients with sPESI ≥1 and low hs-cTnI had greater free adverse events survival (P=0.005). hs-cTnI provided incremental predictive value for in-hospital adverse events,beyond the sPESI score (P<0.001). Conclusionhs-cTnI has excellent negative predictive value of APE prognosis,especially when used combined with sPESI score.
ObjectiveTo explore the changes of plasma prealbumin (PA), homocysteine (Hcy) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels before and after treatment in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), and analyze the correlation of PA and Hcy with hs-CRP and body mass index (BMI).MethodsA total of 132 hospitalized AECOPD patients with GOLD lung function as grade III-IV were recruited as an experimental group and 45 healthy subjects as a control group. The levels of plasma PA, Hcy and hs-CRP were measured by automatic biochemical analyzer, and the main indexes of pulmonary function were determined in all subjects.ResultsCompared with the control group, the level of plasma PA before and after treatment in the experimental group decreased significantly [(146.49±36.53) mg/L and (219.60±41.29) mg/L vs. (269.48±42.63) mg/L], the level of plasma Hcy before and after treatment increased significantly [(16.44±5.21) μmol/L and (12.61±4.56) μmol /L vs. (10.13±3.25) μmol/L], and the levels of plasma hs-CRP before and after treatment increased significantly [(45.24±29.94) mg/L and (7.71±3.41) mg/L vs. (5.01±1.52) mg/L] (all P<0.05). The levels of plasma PA, Hcy and hs-CRP after treatment were significantly better than before treatment in the experimental group (allP<0.01). The plasma PA values before and after treatment were negatively correlated with the level of hs-CRP before and after treatment, and positively correlated with BMI (bothP<0.05).ConclusionsThe levels of plasma PA, Hcy and hs-CRP are significantly different before and after the treatment in AECOPD patients and the healthy controls. PA is negatively correlated with hs-CRP and positively correlated with BMI. The detection of plasma PA and Hcy can help to determine the condition and efficacy of patients with COPD, and PA can reflect the level of inflammation and nutritional status to a certain extent.