The Relationship between Highly Sensitive C-Reactive Protein andPrognostic Factors in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

<p><strong>Background and Objectives: </strong>Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world and is the fourth leading cause of death; it represents an important public health challenge that is both preventable and treatable. The objective of this study is to correlate the levels of serum (hsCRP) with severity of COPD, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and other clinical parameters.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross sectional study was conducted over a period of one year. A minimum of 60 patients of both genders with COPD who fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria were evaluated with detailed history, Pack years, BMI, FEV1 and hsCRP.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Forty nine patients had raised hsCRP values i.e &gt;0.3mg/dl. Of them, 46 patients were in GOLD stage IIIV, suggesting that marked limitation of air flow was related to raised hsCRP levels. HsCRP had a significant negative correlation with age, and a significant positive correlation with pack years, duration of illness, BMI&amp;GOLD Stages.</p> <p><strong>Interpretation and Conclusion: </strong>This study illustrates that hsCRP is an early systemic inflammatory marker that determines outcomes of COPD patients. Age, BMI&amp;pack years, tobacco chewing have a significant correlation with hsCRP. It can be inferred that hsCRP is a useful marker which reflects the systemic inflammation that occurs in COPD. This marker can be useful as an auxiliary marker other than Pulmonary Function Test in assessing patient's status.&nbsp;</p>