CORRELATION OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, LUNG FUNCTION AND GODDARD SCORE WITH SEVERITY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE COMPLICATED WITH EMPHYSEMA

Weiguo Xu^{1, #}, Hui Li^{1, #}, Rong Du¹, Dan Li¹, Bin Dai^{2, *}

Internal Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, 437100, China

Objective: To analyze the correlation between inflammatory response, lung function, and Goddard score and severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated with emphysema. 

Methods: During the time period primarily between March 2018 and January 2020, 83 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema were randomly selected as the study group. There were 32 cases in the mild group (Goddard score less than 8) and 29 cases in the moderate group (Goddard score more than 8 but less than 16 points), and 22 cases in the severe group (Goddard score more than 16 points). Thirty cases of health examination in our hospital were selected as the control group. The changes of clinical basic data of all subjects were compared. Changes in inflammatory response index, pulmonary function index, and Goddard score were measured. The Speason correlation test was used to analyze the correlation between inflammatory response, pulmonary function, and Goddard score in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated with emphysema. 

Results: There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, course of disease, body mass index, pH value, or other basic clinical data among the groups (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the levels of smoking history and smoking index, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-18 (IL-18), and other inflammatory factors in the light, medium, and severe groups were significantly increased, while the levels of lung function indicators such as forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV1), and FEV1/FVC were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Goddard scores increase as the severity of a patient's illness increases (P<0.05). The Speason correlation analysis showed that CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-18 were positively correlated with Goddard scores (P<0.05); FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/ FVC had significantly negative correlation with Goddard scores (P<0.05). 

Conclusions: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated with emphysema have a significant inflammatory response and abnormal lung function, which is significantly correlated with the Goddard score, and that is closely related to the severity of the patient's disease.