Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) combined with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Methods:A prospective observational study was conducted. From April 2015 to March 2017, 49 patients admitted to the Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University due to the acute exacerbation of COPD were enrolled. The remaining sputum from patients after conventional sputum fungal culture was collected and aspergillus was detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR. The clinical data was analyzed, including clinical symptom, imaging, and laboratorial results. Results:In the 49 patients, 18 patients were diagnosed with IPA, most of them were prescribed with steroids and broad spectrum antibiotics. The diagnosis of the disease was difficult and depended mostly on clinical diagnosis. The sensitivity and specificity of PCR detection of aspergillus in sputum in the diagnosis of COPD patients combined with IPA was 72.2% and 87.1%, respectively. Conclusions:IPA is not uncommon in COPD patients. Detection of aspergillus in sputum by fluorescence quantitative PCR is of early diagnostic value.