Tuberc Respir Dis.  2005 Nov;59(5):497-503.

The Role of Respiratory Viral Infections in Exacerbation of Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

• Yoo JY
• Kim DG
• Eom KS
• Shin T
• Park YB
• Lee JY
• Jang SH
• Bahn JW
• Kim CH
• Park SM
• Lee MG
• Hyun IG
• Lee KM
• Jung KS

Abstract

BACKGROUNDS: The exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been suggested to be associated with respiratory tract viral infections (RTVIs). However, the rates of virus detection in previous studies have been quite variable, with lower rates for the exacerbation of COPD. Therefore, the virus detection of patients with exacerbation of asthma and COPD were investigated.
METHODS
20 and 24 patients with exacerbation of asthma and COPD, respectively, were enrolled. Nasal and sputum samples were taken, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rhinovirus and coronavirus and virus culture for influenza A, B, RSV and parainfluenza virus performed.
RESULTS
The mean FEV1/FVC in the exacerbation of asthma and COPD patients were 1.9/2.9 L (65.5%) and 1.1/2.6 L (42.3%), respectively. Respiratory virus was detected in 13 (65%) patients with exacerbation of asthma and rhinovirus was detected in 9. Coronavirus, influenza A, RSV and parainfluenza virus were detected in 2, 2, 1 and 1 patients with asthma. Among patients with exacerbation of COPD, a virus was detected in 14 (58.3%) patients, with rhinovirus, coronavirus and influenza A detected in 10, 3 and 4, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
This study suggested that RTVIs may have a role in the exacerbation of COPD as well as asthma.

Keyword

Asthma; Chronic obstructive pulmonary Disease (COPD); Exacerbation; Viral infection

MeSH Terms

Asthma*
Coronavirus
Humans
Influenza, Human
Paramyxoviridae Infections
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive*
Respiratory System
Rhinovirus
Sputum