Study of blood eosinophils and plasma periostin as biomarkers for response of COPD patients to ICS/LABA treatment

Abstract

Abstract Background Eosinophilic airway inflammation has been detected in up to 40% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients during stable periods of the disease, and increased sputum eosinophil count was associated with better lung function, more future exacerbations, and symptoms that responded better to treatment with inhaled and oral corticosteroids. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship of blood eosinophils and plasma periostin with lung function changes related to ICS and long-acting beta2-agonist combination treatment in stable COPD patients for 3 months. Methods This prospective experimental study was carried out on 50 COPD patients with post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio 265 cell/µL, plasma periostin concentration > 15.747 ng/mL, and FEV1% < 40.5% were associated with posttreatment FEV1 response. Conclusions COPD patients with poor lung functions regarding FEV1/FVC ratio, FEV1 actual value (L), and FEV1% of predicted as well as high blood eosinophil count and high plasma periostin concentration are predicted to have FEV1 response with fixed-dose ICS/LABA combination treatment.

Keywords

• Blood eosinophils
• Plasma periostin
• COPD
• ICS/LABA combination treatment