COPD patients with high blood eosinophil counts exhibit a lower rate of omicron infection and milder post-infection symptoms.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its subsequent Omicron variant has raised concerns for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients due to the potential risk of disruptions to healthcare services and unknown comorbidities between COPD and Omicron. METHOD: In this study, we conducted a follow-up investigation of 315 COPD patients during the Omicron outbreak at Shanxi Bethune Hospital to understand the impact of the pandemic on this vulnerable population. Among all patients, 228 were infected with Omicron, of which 82 needed hospitalizations. RESULT: We found that COPD patients with high blood eosinophil (EOS) counts exhibited lower susceptibility to Omicron infection and were more likely to have milder symptoms that did not require hospitalization. Conversely, patients with low EOS counts showed higher rates of infection and hospitalization. Moreover, EOS count was positively correlated with T lymphocyte counts in hospitalized patients after Omicron infection, suggesting potential associations between EOS and specific immune responses in COPD patients during viral infections. Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between EOS count and lymphocyte and T-cells, and a negative correlation between EOS count and age, neutrophil, and C-reactive protein. CONCLUSION: Overall, our study contributes to the knowledge of COPD management during the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak and emphasizes the importance of considering individual immune profiles to improve care for COPD patients in the face of the ongoing global health crisis.