Prothrombotic state in patients with stable COPD: an observational study

Background COPD patients have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolism. Methods This study aimed to investigate whether patients with stable COPD have a prothrombotic state compared to COPD-free smokers. We conducted an observational study comparing levels of: D-dimers, INR, aPTT, coagulation factors: fibrinogen, FII, FV, FVII, FVIII, FIX, FX and coagulation inhibitors: protein S, proteins C and antithrombin between stable COPD patients and control subjects. Results A total of 103 COPD patients and 42 controls with similar age, sex, current smoking status, comorbidity burden and cardiovascular risk met the inclusion criteria. Compared to controls, COPD patients had higher levels of: D-dimers [360 (230–600) ng·mL−1versus 240 (180–400) ng·mL−1, p=0.001], fibrinogen (399±82 mg·dL−1versus 346±65 mg·dL−1, p Conclusion Patients with stable COPD exhibited increased levels of key coagulation factors and decreased levels of coagulation inhibitors, namely protein S and antithrombin, compared to COPD-free smokers. Among COPD patients, increased levels of FII, FV and FX and decreased levels of protein S were found in patients with more severe disease.