Use of Laboratory Tests and Their Prognostic Value in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not merely a lung disease as the name indicates. Patients with COPD experience associated complications with systemic inflammation, heart strain, muscle wasting, poor functional performance, and psychological issues. An assessment of these patients based only on lung function tests or functional capacity would be inadequate. Many studies have reported the significance and prognostic value of several laboratory tests. Troponin, C-reactive protein (CRP), hemoglobin, and carbon dioxide are older tests but compared with the newly developed tests, they are relatively inexpensive to measure and widely available. This article will review laboratory tests used for COPD and discuss their prognostic value. The laboratory tests that can identify high-risk patients will be discussed. We will explore the role of these tests in clinical practice.