Total serum IgE level in COPD exacerbations

Background: COPD exacerbations were diagnosed based on the clinical parameters only. Till now we were unable to find out a reliable blood based biomarker. Serum IgE is one of the measurements of airway inflammation which is well established in asthma, it’s role in COPD not studied adequately. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted in a tertiary care center. This study included 75 COPD patients who were admitted in our hospital for exacerbations. Exacerbations defined by the GOLD report 2018. Complete history & Total serum IgE levels were obtained from all patients during admission, pulmonary function test has been done at the time of discharge and results were analyzed. Results: In our study the mean value of serum IgE is 416.75 IU/L. Patients who had elevated serum IgE (>100 IU/L) levels were 55 (73.3%). FEV1/FVC ratio significantly high in elevated IgE group (0.580.09 in elevated IgE vs 0.490.10 in IgE not elevated, p more in elevated IgE group (13.7%+185ml in elevated IgE vs 6.4%+73ml in IgE not elevated, p=0.001). IgE elevated patients have seasonal variation history, Biomass exposure history. They had more Asthma COPD Overlap features than IgE not elevated group (p=0.001). Conclusion: COPD patients can have elevated serum IgE levels during exacerbations. IgE may play an important role in pathogenesis of COPD and can be used as a biomarker for COPD Exacerbations. Key message: Serum total IgE can be used as a biomarker in COPD exacerbations. This can be used as a new therapeutic target for the same. Keywords: Humans, Chronic obstructive pulmonary, Disease, Biomarkers, Immunoglobulin E, Asthma.