scholarly journals Colour vision deficiency and sputum colour charts in COPD patients: an exploratory mixed-method study

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunita Channa ◽  
Nicola Gale ◽  
Emma Lai ◽  
Lara Hall ◽  
Mark Quinn ◽  
...  

AbstractSputum colour may mark bacterial involvement in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, whether colour vision deficiency (CVD) in COPD patients could impact the use of sputum colour charts as part of a guide to antibiotic use in exacerbations is unknown. This study used an exploratory mixed-method approach to establish the likelihood that COPD patients will be colour blind and whether this would result in the sputum colour chart being unusable in the context of the patients’ self-management of their condition. CVD is under-reported in primary care and comorbidities in COPD patients increase the risk of acquiring CVD. Participants diagnosed with CVD and risk of acquiring CVD were able to use the sputum colour charts. Colour charts are likely to be usable even in the context of undiagnosed CVD in COPD patients.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Professor Alice M Turner ◽  
Nicola Gale ◽  
Mark Quinn

Abstract This exploratory mixed method sub-study aimed to establish the impact of colour vision deficiency (CVD) on the usability of sputum colour charts in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Participants with CVD and those with at risk of acquiring CVD were recruited for the study. Colour vision was tested using Chroma Test, which is a software program that analyses the tritan and protan colour contrast thresholds. Qualitative interviews (individual and focus groups) comprised of participants with COPD assessed for undiagnosed CVD, as well as a group with known CVD (with or without COPD). Interviews were analysed using the framework method. Refer to Protocol 1.In addition, a cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of CVD in The Health Improvement Network (THIN) using colour blind diagnostic read codes. A limitation of this could be failure of general practitioners to record CVD causing underreporting. Refer to Protocol 2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Ma ◽  
Ke Huang ◽  
Chen Liang ◽  
Xihua Mao ◽  
Yaowen Zhang ◽  
...  

Background: The evidence for real-world antibiotic use in treating acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is insufficient. This study aimed to investigate real-world antibiotic use in the management of AECOPD in China.Methods: All hospitalized AECOPD patients from the acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease inpatient registry (ACURE) study conducted at 163 sites between January 2018 and December 2019 were screened according to the eligible criteria. The eligible study population was divided into secondary and tertiary hospital groups. Patients’ baseline characteristics, antibiotic use, and bacterial pathogen characteristics were retrieved and analyzed using SPSS 23.0.Results: A total of 1663 patients were included in the study, including 194 patients from secondary hospitals and 1469 patients from tertiary hospitals. Among the 1663 AECOPD patients enrolled, 1434 (86.2%) received antibiotic treatment, comprising approximately 85.6% and 86.3% of patients in the secondary and tertiary hospital groups, respectively. The median antibiotic therapy duration was 9.0 (interquartile range [IQR]: 7.0 - 11.0)°days. Regarding the routes of antibiotic use, 1400 (97.6%) patients received intravenous antibiotics, 18 (1.3%) patients received oral antibiotics, 15 (1.0%) patients received both intravenous and oral antibiotics, and one (0.1%) patient received both oral and nebulized antibiotic treatment. In addition, cephalosporin, penicillin, and quinolone were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics (43.6%, 37.0%, and 34.2%, respectively). In total, 990 (56.5%) patients underwent pathogen examinations; the proportion of patients receiving pathogen examinations in the second hospital group was significantly lower than that in the tertiary hospital group (46.4% vs 61.3%, p < 0.001).Conclusion: This study demonstrates that an antibiotic overuse may exist in the treatment of AECOPD in China. Measures should be taken to prevent the overuse of antibiotics and potential antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Chinese AECOPD patients.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 771-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Guillon ◽  
Youenn Jouan ◽  
Deborah Brea ◽  
Fabien Gueugnon ◽  
Emilie Dalloneau ◽  
...  

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is punctuated by episodes of infection-driven acute exacerbations. Despite the life-threatening nature of these exacerbations, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, although a high number of neutrophils in the lungs of COPD patients is known to correlate with poor prognosis. Interleukin (IL)-22 is a cytokine that plays a pivotal role in lung antimicrobial defence and tissue protection. We hypothesised that neutrophils secrete proteases that may have adverse effects in COPD, by altering the IL-22 receptor (IL-22R)-dependent signalling.Using in vitro and in vivo approaches as well as reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR, flow cytometry and/or Western blotting techniques, we first showed that pathogens such as the influenza virus promote IL-22R expression in human bronchial epithelial cells, whereas Pseudomonas aeruginosa, bacterial lipopolysaccharide or cigarette smoke do not. Most importantly, neutrophil proteases cleave IL-22R and impair IL-22-dependent immune signalling and expression of antimicrobial effectors such as β-defensin-2. This proteolysis resulted in the release of a soluble fragment of IL-22R, which was detectable both in cellular and animal models as well as in sputa from COPD patients with acute exacerbations.Hence, our study reveals an unsuspected regulation by the proteolytic action of neutrophil enzymes of IL-22-dependent lung host response. This process probably enhances pathogen replication, and ultimately COPD exacerbations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Wen Song ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
Fengming Tian ◽  
Liang Ge ◽  
Xiaoqian Shang ◽  
...  

Background. Currently, standards of antibiotic use in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients are controversial. Objective. The aim of the present study was to analyze the value of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels to guide the antibiotic treatment of AECOPD patients. Methods. A total of 371 patients with COPD or AECOPD were included in the study. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained at admission, 325 AECOPD patients and 46 sCOPD patients treated with antibiotics. The receiver operating curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the relationship between CRP, PCT, and IL-6. Results. This study included medical record/case control 1, the COPD group ( n = 46 ) and the AECOPD group ( n = 325 ), and medical record control 2, the nonchanged antibiotic group ( n = 203 ) and the changed antibiotic group ( n = 61 ). In case 1, CRP, PCT, and IL-6 levels in the AECOPD group were higher than that in the control group ( P < 0.05 ), while the result of ROC showed that IL-6 had higher AUC values (0.773) and higher sensitivity (71.7%) than other indicators. The specificity of PCT (93.5%) is higher than other indicators. In case 2, ROC curve results showed that the AUC value of IL-6 (0.771) was slightly higher than PCT and CRP. The sensitivity (85.2%) and specificity (65.5%) of CRP were higher than other indicators. Conclusions. IL-6 and PCT were elevated in AECOPD patients, resulting in a higher diagnostic value for AECOPD. CRP had a higher diagnostic value for antibiotic use in AECOPD patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Zhou ◽  
Shufang Liu ◽  
Danni He ◽  
Kundi Wang ◽  
Yunfeng Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Backgrounds: Some studies have reported association of circulating fibrinogen with the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the results are conflicting. To yield more information, we aimed to test the hypothesis that circulating fibrinogen is a promising biomarker for COPD by a meta-analysis. Methods: Data extraction and quality assessment were independently completed by two authors. Effect-size estimates are expressed as weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: Forty-five articles involving 5586/18604 COPD patients/controls were incorporated. Overall analyses revealed significantly higher concentrations of circulating fibrinogen in COPD patients than in controls (WMD: 84.67 mg/dl; 95% CI: 64.24–105.10). Subgroup analyses by COPD course showed that the degree of increased circulating fibrinogen in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) relative to controls (WMD: 182.59 mg/dl; 95% CI: 115.93–249.25) tripled when compared in patients with stable COPD (WMD: 56.12 mg/dl; 95% CI: 34.56–77.67). By COPD severity, there was a graded increase in fibrinogen with the increased severity of COPD relative to controls (Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) I, II, III, and IV: WMD: 13.91, 29.19, 56.81, and 197.42 mg/dl; 95% CI: 7.70–20.11, 17.43–40.94, 39.20–74.41, and −7.88 to 402.73, respectively). There was a low probability of publication bias. Conclusion: Our findings indicate a graded, concentration-dependent, significant relation between higher circulating fibrinogen and more severity of COPD.


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