Fırat Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Göğüs Hastalıkları AD

It is determined that complement system is activated response to the bacterial and viral infections and its consumption increases after activation. In this study we aimed to measure the serum levels of C3 and C4 in COPD patients, and to investigate whether the relation between complement levels and severity of attack. Fifty COPD patients who admitted to Chest Department of Fırat University Fırat Medical Center because of an attack, and 20 cases, who were current smoker and healthy (control group) were enrolled to the study. Serum C3, C4 levels of all groups, and arterial blood analyses, pulmonary function tests of COPD patients were estimated. The mean age of COPD patients was 65.22±5.23. 7 of them were female, and 43 of them were male. Disease period was 7.74±5.84 years. Time of smoking was 43.38±23.29 packet/year. Serum C3, C4 levels in stage II, III, and IV, and serum C4 levels in stage I COPD patients were statistically lower than control group, but serum C3 level showed no difference between stage I COPD patients and control group. Although serum C4 levels correlated with PaO2, and FEV1 levels in COPD patients, serum C3 levels did not correlate with PaO2, and FEV1 levels. In conclusion, we think that evaluation of serum C4 levels in COPD patients may be useful for determining the disease severity, and can be a useful marker of COPD attack.