Elevated levels of serum uric acid and its correlation with unfavorable out-comes in individuals who experience acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive airway disease. Correlation of Serum uric acid level with severity of COPD.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between increased levels of blood uric acid and unfavorable outcomes in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Methodology: This Prospective Cohort study was conducted at Pulmonology Department of Jinnah Hospital; Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore from Dec 2019 to May 2020. Total 142 patients (71 from exposed and 71 from un-exposed group) that satisfied the inclusion criteria were studied. Depending upon level of serum uric acid at the time of admission, before initiation of therapy, these patients were considered as exposed and unexposed. Demographics and all-cause mortality, ICU admission, need for non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and length of hospital stay (LOS) for AECOPD within 30 days was logged.
Results: The 95% confidence interval for the relative risk (RR) of all-cause mortality in the exposed group (raised serum uric acid at the time of admission) was 6.50 with a p-value of 0.003. Patients from exposed group also needed to stay in the hospital longer and more frequently, needed noninvasive breathing and ICU admittance at 30 days. There were in-creased number of exacerbations among exposed group as compared to unexposed (p-value = 0.002).
Conclusion: The raised serum uric acid at the time of admission is linked to higher chance of morbidity and death in pa-tients of AECOPD. This finding may be helpful in identifying high risk patients so that intensive and rigorous treatment may be initiated early.
Key words: COPD, AECOPD, Serum Uric Acid, Chronic Smokers.