Diagnostic value of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in patients with asthma-COPD overlap

Abstract:

Objective：To explore the diagnostic value of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin（NGAL） in patients with asthma-COPD overlap（ACO）. Methods：A total of 30 patients with ACO，35 patients with bronchial asthma（asthma），60 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease（COPD） and 25 healthy nonsmokers（control） were enrolled in this study. Their general data were collected and their pulmonary function was completed. Levels of plasma NGAL were determined by ELISA；univariate analysis of variance was used to evaluate the expressive difference of plasma NGAL levels in the ACO group，the asthma group，the COPD group and the control group；the relationship of NGAL and confounding factors was analyzed；the receiver operating characteristic curve （ROC） was used to assess the diagnostic value of NGAL on differentiating ACO and non-ACO. Results：Plasma NGAL levels in the ACO group and the COPD group were （110.50±22.81） ng/mL and （127.40±27.57） ng/mL，respectively，which were higher than those of （85.79±20.02） ng/mL in the asthma group and （86.54±23.46） ng/mL in the control group. Plasma NGAL levels were sta－tistically different between ACO group and asthma group（P=0.000），as well as between ACO group and COPD group（P=0.015）. Plasma NGAL levels were negatively correlated with forced expiratory volume in one second（FEV1）（r=-0.422，P=0.000），and were positively correlated with smoking（r=0.500，P=0.000）. The area under ROC curve（AUC） was 0.565（P=0.273）. Conclusion：Plasma NGAL may have a certain value to differentiate ACO，asthma，as well as COPD，and may be a potential biomarker for ACO.