Effect of procalcitonin on the prognosis of patients with COPD

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of procalcitonin levels on the prognosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and its relationship with other indices of infection. Inpatients diagnosed with acute aggravation of COPD between January 2017 and June 2018 were enrolled in the present study. Troponin, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cell (WBC) count, percentage of neutrophils (NE%), hospitalization days and hospitalization expenses were collected and followed up for half a year to observe the survival rate in patients with COPD and the risk of acute aggravation. There were 246 patients with procalcitonin (PCT) levels <0.1 ng/ml, among whom 55 were randomly selected and assigned to a PCT negative group; and another 55 patients with PCT levels ≥0.1 ng/ml were assigned to a PCT positive group. The serum CRP, ESR, WBC count, NE% and hospitalization expenses in the PCT positive group were significantly higher compared with the PCT negative group (P<0.05). There was a positive association between PCT levels and CRP, WBC, NE% and hospitalization expenses, but not between PCT and ESR. The number of AECOPD events occurring within half a year between the two groups was statistically significant (χ²=5.923; P<0.05), and there was no significant correlation between PCT and recurrence frequency. Together, the results of the present study suggest that the levels of PCT in patients with acute aggravation may reflect the severity of COPD and may be used as a reference value for prognostic risk assessment. Serum PCT levels may be used as an indicator to predict duration and cost of hospitalization.