Eosinophils and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 1 - 553
• Main Authors: Fekri, Mitra Samareh, Najminejad, Zohreh, Karami Robati, Fatemeh, Dalfardi, Behnam, Lashkarizadeh, Mahdiyeh, Najafzadeh, Mohammad Javad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central Ltd 03.06.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Asthma; Blood; Blood levels; Cardiovascular disease; Care and treatment; Chest; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Consent; COPD; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Diabetes; Diagnosis; Dyspnea; Eosinophilia; Eosinophils; Fever; Global health; Health aspects; Hospital patients; Hospitalization; Hypertension; Influenza; Laboratories; Leukocytes (eosinophilic); Lobes; Lung diseases; Lung diseases, Obstructive; Measurement; Medical imaging; Mortality; Oxygen content; Oxygen therapy; Patients; Peripheral blood; Pneumonia; Public health; Regression analysis; Respiratory diseases; Risk factors; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Statistical analysis; Viral diseases; Iran
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09373-2

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a global health emergency necessitates continued investigation of the disease progression. This study investigated the relationship between eosinophilia and the severity of COVID-19 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 73 COPD patients infected by COVID-19 in Afzalipour Hospital, Iran. Peripheral blood samples were collected for hematological parameter testing, including eosinophil percentage, using Giemsa staining. Eosinophilia was defined as[greater than or equal to] 2% and non-eosinophilia as< 2%. The severity of pulmonary involvement was determined based on chest CT severity score (CT-SS) (based on the degree of involvement of the lung lobes, 0%: 0 points, 1-25%: 1 point, 26-50%: 2 points, 51-75%: 3 points, and 76-100%: 4 points). The CT-SS was the sum of the scores of the five lobes (range 0-20). The average age of patients was 67.90[+ or -]13.71 years, and most were male (54.8%). Non-eosinophilic COPD patients were associated with more severe COVID-19 (P= 0.01) and lower oxygen saturation (P= 0.001). In addition, the study revealed a significant difference in the chest CT severity score (CT-SS) between non-eosinophilic (9.76[+ or -]0.7) and eosinophilic COPD patients (6.26[+ or -]0.63) (P< 0.001). Although non-eosinophilic COPD patients had a higher mortality rate, this difference was not statistically significant (P= 0.16). Our study demonstrated that reduced peripheral blood eosinophil levels in COPD patients with COVID-19 correlate with unfavorable outcomes. Understanding this association can help us identify high-risk COPD patients and take appropriate management strategies to improve their prognosis.