FREQUENCY OF BLOOD EOSINOPHILIA AND ITS ROLE AS A MARKER OF OUTCOME AMONG THE PATIENTS ADMITTED WITH ACUTE EXACERBATION OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

DR.MAIMOONA ZAMURAD KHAN, DR.NASIR FAROOQ BUTT, DR.BEENISH IQBAL, DR USAMA, DR.ZAINAB TASEER, DR MARIA ZAMURAD KHAN

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pathological features are characterized by neutrophilic inflammation, high eosinophil count, productive cough and SOB on exertion.  

Objective: To evaluate the association between eosinophil count and clinical outcomes during acute exacerbation of COPD.  

Methods: It’s a descriptive case study that was conducted at Mayo Hospital, Lahore from May 2025 to September 2025. Both genders between 40-80 years of age with spirometry proven COPD cases (n=123) presenting with acute exacerbation were included. Under aseptic measures, a venous blood sample was drawn for blood eosinophilic count at the time of admission. They were then divided into Eosinophilic and Non-eosinophilic groups. An arterial blood sample were taken daily under aseptic measures for ABGs analysis to look for respiratory failure during admission. All the data was processed by SPSS v28.0. Independent samples t-test was applied for quantitative parameters like age, duration of disease, length of hospital stays between eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic groups. Chi-square test was also applied with p-value of ≤ 0.05 was taken significant.

Results: Patients with eosinophilic acute exacerbation of COPD had a shorter hospital stay in comparison to non-eosinophilic patients (p < 0.001). Regarding clinical outcomes, all-cause in-hospital mortality were observed exclusively in the non-eosinophilic group (12.9%). Similarly, the development of respiratory failure was significantly more frequent in non-eosinophilic patients compared to eosinophilic patients (p = 0.042). The requirement for mechanical ventilation, either invasive or non-invasive, was also significantly higher in the non-eosinophilic group (p = 0.020).

Conclusion: We concluded that better in-hospital outcomes were seen among patients with acute exacerbation of COPD who had peripheral blood eosinophilia.