id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
cord-001613-fsbemdry	Chang, Chih-Hao	Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein cannot differentiate bacterial or viral infection in COPD exacerbation requiring emergency department visits	2015-04-13		.txt	text/plain	3717	225	42	Bacterial colonization and viral respiratory pathogens play important roles in exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 1,2 especially in patients requiring hospitalization. 13, 14 Whether serum inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) or PCT, can distinguish bacterial from viral infection or not in patients with COPD exacerbations requiring emergency department (ED) visits remains controversial. This study was conducted to clarify peripheral blood white blood cell (WBC) counts, PCT, and CRP levels, and their relationships with viral or bacterial pathogens, in COPD patients requiring ED visits for exacerbations. Medical records were reviewed and analyzed for the following data: age, sex, body mass index (BMI), medications used prior to the ED admission, clinical symptoms (worsened dyspnea, increased sputum volume and purulence, fever, cough, sore throat, and wheeze), family cluster of common cold symptoms, peripheral blood WBC count, serum CRP and PCT levels, spirometry, and hospital days of the current exacerbation.	./cache/cord-001613-fsbemdry.txt	./txt/cord-001613-fsbemdry.txt