Abstract
Eosinophilic inflammation is an important treatable trait in airway diseases. The characterization of eosinophilia, its comparison with an unselected population and the implication of eosinophil variability have not been studied yet.Our objectives were to compare the distribution of blood eosinophils between an asthma population and a general population and to find the best variable among eosinophil count and dispersion variables that classifies patients at risk of hospitalization.
Patients from the MAJORICA cohort were studied. Asthma patients≥18 year-old with at least one stable blood eosinophil count were studied. Control individuals with blood routine tests were selected. Eosinophil data were analysed as the mean, median and maximum values. Standard deviation, coefficient of variation (CV), and interquartile range were used to study dispersion. The association between eosinophil variables and the risk of hospitalization was studied using correlations and ROC curves.
10,059 patients and 8,623 controls were included with 35,703 and 8,822 eosinophil determinations. Asthma patients had higher levels of eosinophils and greater dispersion compared to controls (217 (115-357) vs 190 (120-290) cells/μL p<0.05). The CV was the variable with higher association to hospital admission (Rho: +0.325, p<0.05) and with a better AUC (0.741, p<0.05). The 22% CV cutoff showed the best sensitivity (71%) and specificity (67%) to discriminate hospitalization.
Asthma patients present higher eosinopihl values and variability compared to an unselected population. Eosinophil variability in an asthma population has a better predictive capacity for hospitalization than absolute values.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2020; 56: Suppl. 64, 5044.
This abstract was presented at the 2020 ERS International Congress, in session “Respiratory viruses in the "pre COVID-19" era”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2020