Lipid profile status in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with acute exacerbation and its correlation with the severity and treatment of the disease presenting at a tertiary hospital in Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Most of the morbidity and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary dsease patients is due to extra-pulmonary complications, especially cardiovascular complications for which dyslipidemia is a major risk factor. So, the aim of our study was to correlate dyslipidemia with the severity of acute exacerbations of COPD.

Method: A hospital-based, prospective, cross-sectional study of 6 months' duration was conducted among 150 COPD patients presenting with acute exacerbation. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine. Various study variables (Age, sex, ethnicity, BMI, dyspnea grading, and severity of COPD presentation) were recorded. Fasting lipid profile was analyzed and correlated with disease severity.

Result: The majority of patients were aged over 70 years (ranging from 42 to 83 years, with a mean age of 69.9 +/-9.5 years), were female (86, 57.3%), and belonged to the Brahmin ethnicity (60, 40%). Most of them presented in exacerbation with Dyspnea (MMRC grade III), 87 (58%), with a mean body mass index of 26.90 kg/m². On our evaluation, the median triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were found to be 140.22, 127.71, 38.7, 120; 175.28, 166.41, 30.24, 147.06; and 192.81, 183.83, 23.22, 158.67 mg/dl in moderate, severe, and very severe AECOPD cases, respectively.

Conclusion: Greater severity of exacerbations was associated with higher values of atherogenic lipid parameters (TC, TGs, and LDL) and lower HDL levels.