Acute Phase Proteins as Predictors of Survival in Patients With Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Requiring Mechanical Ventilation

Few studies have tried to assess prognostic variables in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients requiring mechanical ventilation (MV). We evaluated serum C reactive protein, (CRP) pre-albumin (PA) and transferrin (TR) levels in AE-COPD patients requiring MV as prognostic markers of in hospital mortality. 93 AE-COPD patients on MV were evaluated. Detailed clinical evaluation was done daily. Serum CRP & PA were measured on admission, 3rd, 8th and 16th day; TR was measured on admission, 8th and 16th day. Demographics, baseline parameters, CRP, PA and TR were correlated with mortality. Of 93 patients, 49 (52.69%) survived whereas 44 patients (47.31%) died. APACHE II, serum urea & albumin were similar in survivors & non-survivors. Baseline CRP (>= 10.5 mg/dl) had sensitivity of 60.5%, specificity of 60.2%, with area under curve (AUC) of 0.62 as predictor of mortality. CRP (>= 7 mg/dl) on day 3 had sensitivity (65.5%) and specificity (63.3%) with AUC 0.70 as predictor of mortality. Baseline serum prealbumin was 11.00 (0.09-29.26) mg/dl, and similar in survivors & non-survivors (p = 0.7). Prealbumin at day 8 (n = 50) < 13.5 mg/dl had sensitivity 54.6%, and specificity 51.4% with AUC 0.54 (95% CI 0.34-0.75) as predictor of mortality. Transferrin at day 8 (n = 50) of <148.9 had sensitivity 63.4% and specificity 61.4% with AUC 0.61 with respect to mortality. High CRP levels at baseline, persistently elevated CRP (on day 3) may predict mortality in AE-COPD patients requiring MV. Further studies are required to establish prognostic variables in this patient population.