International Journal of COPD (Dec 2016)

COPD assessment test score and serum C-reactive protein level in stable COPD patients

  • Kang HK,
  • Kim K,
  • Lee H,
  • Jeong BH,
  • Koh WJ,
  • Park HY

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 11
pp. 3137 – 3143

Abstract

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Hyung Koo Kang,1,2,* Kang Kim,1,* Hyun Lee,1 Byeong-Ho Jeong,1 Won-Jung Koh,1 Hye Yun Park1 1Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, 2Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Ilsan Paik Hospital, Inje University School of Medicine, Goyang, Gyeonggi, South Korea *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: An eight-item questionnaire of the COPD assessment test (CAT) is widely used to quantify the impact of COPD on the patient’s health status. C-reactive protein (CRP) is associated with disease severity and adverse health outcomes of patients with COPD. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between CAT score and serum CRP levels in stable COPD patients.Methods: We evaluated the medical records of 226 patients with CAT and serum CRP measured within a week at Samsung Medical Center between October 2013 and October 2015.Results: Serum CRP levels had a significantly positive relationship with CAT score (Spearman’s r=0.20, P=0.003). Patients with elevated serum CRP levels (>0.3 mg/dL) were significantly more likely to have CAT scores of ≥14. The adjusted odds ratio for elevated serum CRP levels in total CAT score was 1.06 (95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.09). Among CAT components, cough (adjusted P=0.005), phlegm (adjusted P=0.001), breathlessness going up hills/stairs (adjusted P=0.005), low confidence leaving home (adjusted P=0.002), and feeling low in energy (adjusted P=0.019) were independently associated with elevated serum CRP levels.Conclusion: In stable COPD patients, serum CRP levels were independently associated with total CAT score and CAT components related to respiratory symptoms, confidence leaving home, and energy. Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test, C-reactive protein, quality of life, inflammation

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