title: Association between C-reactive protein concentration and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the association between the serum concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE(®), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE databases  were searched for relevant studies. Data were extracted; pooled weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty studies were selected for final inclusion in this analysis. Patients with COPD had higher serum CRP concentrations than healthy  controls (WMD 4.72 mg/l, 95% CI 2.98, 6.47). In addition, patients with severe COPD had higher serum CRP concentrations than those with moderate COPD (WMD 1.26 mg/l, 95% CI 0.78, 1.73). There was no significant difference in serum CRP concentration between patients with mild and moderate COPD  (WMD 0.67 mg/l, 95% CI -0.08, 1.42).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis suggested that patients with stable COPD had higher serum CRP concentrations than healthy controls. CRP might be an indicator of disease severity in patients with COPD, thus highlighting the importance of measuring  serum CRP concentrations in patients with stable COPD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Key Laboratory of Pulmonary Diseases of the Ministry of Health of China, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bunjhoo
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein