STUDY OF SPUTUM CYTOLOGY IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) PATIENTS

Background- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airow from the lungs. Symptoms include breathing difculty, cough, mucus (sputum) production and wheezing. It's typically caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases or particulate matter, most often from cigarette smoke. People with COPD are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and a variety of other conditions. Material And Methods: This study was carried out in COPD patients admitted in Geetanjali medical college, Udaipur. After diagnosis and assessment of COPD which includes pre and post bronchodilator assessment, Morning induced sputum was collected and haematoxylin - and eosin - stained specimen underwent cytology. Results: Majority of the patients (82%) were having moderate to severe COPD, only 8% and 10% had mild & very severe COPD respectively. Neutrophilic (58%) phenotype is the commonest among COPD patients and eosinophilic phenotype (20%) also found in signifcant number of cases. Mean blood eosinophilic count among COPD patients in this study were 2.79+1.93. Conclusion: Neutrophilic phenotype is predominant phenotype in most of the COPD patients but signifcant proportion of patients had eosinophilic phenotype. Blood eosinophil counts enabled identifcation of presence or absence of sputum eosinophilia with reliable accuracy. There is positive correlation between sputum eosinophil and severity of disease (FEV ) COPD. Specic phenotyping of COPD inammatory proles are worthwhile and of clinical importance.