Peripheral eosinophils and mortality in COPD patients over nine years

Research highlights from the 2018 European Respiratory Society International Congress: airway disease

“…Furthermore, P rudente et al. [ 42 ] reported that BEC may have a long-term predictive value, as high BECs were associated with increased 9-year mortality in a Brazilian cohort of COPD patients.…”

“…A cross-sectional study in Poland involving 2597 patients with COPD, as identified by primary care physicians, confirmed that the application of GOLD 2017 leads to a decrease in patients allocated to GOLD groups C and D by 60% [ 49 ]. Less than 8% were classified as group C and 21% as group D. In the ECLIPSE cohort, only 7% and 15% of all participants were allocated to GOLD groups C and D, respectively, compared to 23% and 40% according to the GOLD 2013 classification [ 42 ]. Overall, application of GOLD 2017 criteria led to reclassification of 25–60% of all patients with COPD who were previously graded as GOLD groups C or D, but were now classified as GOLD groups A or B.…”

Airways diseases: asthma, COPD and chronic cough highlights from the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress 2018

“…A retrospective observational cohort study explored the predictive value of blood eosinophils on the clinical outcomes after acute COPD exacerbations requiring hospitalization and observed that blood eosinophils indicated shorter duration of exacerbation, less usage of oxygen therapy and noninvasive ventilation, despite having a higher rate of readmission (22). In contrast, another study following 110 COPD patients over nine years regardless of exacerbation history, showed three times higher mortality in those COPD subjects with absolute eosinophil numbers ≥150 cells (23). Finding good biomarkers which also have prognostic value, seems as difficult as finding therapies which lower mortality in patients with COPD.…”