Photo Credit: Silver Place

The following is a summary of “Association between blood eosinophils and clinical outcome of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the February 2024 issue of Pulmonology by Liu, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to systematically evaluate the association between elevated peripheral blood eosinophils and clinical outcomes in patients experiencing acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), considering mortality, hospital stay duration, readmission and hospitalization rates, and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation.

A comprehensive electronic search was conducted from database inception to February 28, 2023, covering PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Eligible studies focused on the correlation between EOS AECOPD and relevant clinical outcomes. Meta-analysis techniques were utilized to pool and assess relative risk (RR) and weighted mean difference (WMD), with sensitivity analysis to explore heterogeneity sources.

Fifteen studies, including 14 cohort studies and one case-control study, met the criteria for inclusion. Compared to non-eosinophilic AECOPD patients, individuals with eosinophilic AECOPD exhibited a reduced risk of mortality (RR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.54, 0.77, P < 0.001), shorter hospital stays (WMD = -1.56, 95% CI -2.16, -0.96, P < 0.001), and a slightly higher readmission rate (RR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.01, 1.13, P = 0.029). No significant differences were observed in hospitalization rates and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation between the two groups.

Patients with eosinophilic AECOPD demonstrated reduced mortality rates, shorter hospital stays, and marginally higher readmission probabilities compared to those without eosinophilia. Peripheral blood eosinophil levels may serve as a potential predictive biomarker for clinical outcomes in AECOPD patients.

Reference: resmedjournal.com/article/S0954-6111(23)00389-X/abstract