Correlation of Inflammatory Cells in Induced Sputum and Peripheral Blood of Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major chronic respiratory disease worldwide. Inflammatory cells reflect the inflammatory situation both in peripheral blood and induced sputum. Their correlation has not been reported. The correlation between neutrophils (Neu), eosinophils (Eos), and lymphocyte (Lym) in induced sputum and that in peripheral blood of COPD patients was evaluated to explore the consistency of inflammatory cells in peripheral blood and induced sputum. Peripheral blood and induced sputum were collected from 437 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) who were hospitalized in the Department of respiratory and critical care medicine, Inner Mongolia People’s Hospital. The correlation analysis was performed by Spearman correlation analysis. The ratios of Neu, Eos, and Lym in induced sputum were (79.15 ± 22.60)%, (5.23 ± 12.74)%, and (1.69 ± 2.66)%. The ratios of Neu, Eos, and Lym in peripheral blood were (63.29 ± 11.44)%, (2.99 ± 3.60)%, and (25.16 ± 10.19)%. The results showed that the ratios of Neu and Eos in induced sputum were significantly correlated with the proportion of corresponding cells in peripheral blood (P There was no correlation between the ratio of Lym and Leu in induced sputum and corresponding cells in peripheral blood (P > 0.05). In patients with AECOPD, the tendency of Neu and Eos in induced sputum was consistent with the corresponding cells in peripheral blood. Neu and Eos in induced sputum and peripheral blood reflected the degree of inflammation to guide the individualized medication of patients.