Red blood cell distribution width and serum CA-125 level as prognostic markers in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

OBJECTIVE: Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is a primary cause of hospitalization and death in COPD. Serum CA-125 and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) are related to AECOPD. We investigated correlations between serum markers and AECOPD. METHODS: In total, 132 patients with AECOPD were included from January 2017 to December 2019. Participants were followed for 1 year. Patients were assigned to the poor prognosis (n = 40) or good prognosis (n = 92) group. We collected serum samples and general clinical information and conducted routine blood tests. We used logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and area under the ROC curve (AUC) analyses to assess differences between groups. RESULTS: We found significant differences between groups (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval) for age (1.046, 1.005–1.09), RDW (2.012, 1.339–3.023), and cancer antigen 125 (CA-125; 1.022, 1.006–1.039); these remained risk factors for AECOPD prognosis in multivariate analyses. RDW and CA-125 in combination was significant in ROC curve analysis. The AUC of RDW, CA-125, and these combined were 0.691, 0.779, and 0.772, respectively. Patients with RDW >12.75% and CA-125 >15.65 U/mL were predicted to have poor prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: We found that RDW and CA-125 are potential prognostic indicators for AECOPD.