What Is Emphysema?

By jolene

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6. Laboratory Studies

Some of the laboratory studies that may be useful are an arterial blood gas analysis (COPD patients tend to have hypoxemina and hypercapnia that worsens as the disease progresses), hematocrit levels (COPD patients tend to have a higher hematocrit level), serum bicarbonate levels (used to monitor disease progression), serum alpha-1 antitrypsin (to gauge severity of the deficiency), and sputum evaluation. In emphysema and stable chronic bronchitis, the sputum is mucoid with a predominance of macrophages. When exacerbation occurs, there can be excessive neutrophils, mixture of organisms, and purulent sputum. Commonly cultured pathogens during exacerbations are Hemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae.