To analyze the clinical value of serum ceruloplasmin (CP), hemopexin (HPx) and α2-macroglobulin (AMG) in the diagnosis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

A total of 44 patients with COPD admitted to our hospital from January 2015 to January 2018 were enrolled as the COPD group, 36 patients with asthma in the same period were selected as the asthma group, and 30 healthy volunteers who underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. The fasting peripheral blood of each group was collected. The levels of serum CP, Hpx and AMG were measured. The sputum samples were collected. The differences in the levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in each group were measured.

The serum levels of CP were (484.22±42.33) μg /ml and (550.45±51.75) μg /ml, respectively, and the serum levels of MPO were (62.45±5.71) ng/ml and (81.02±4.33) ng/ml, respectively, in the asthma group and the COPD group, which were higher than those of the control group [ (322.65±52.63) μg /ml and (7.62±2.74) ng/ml, respectively, P<0.05]. And the serum levels of CP and MPO in the COPD group were also higher than those of the asthma group (P<0.05). The serum levels of Hpx were (89.25±10.14)% and (82.31±9.54)%, respectively, and the serum levels of AMG were (136.41±30.78) μg /ml and (98.45±25.54) μg /ml, respectively, in the asthma group and the COPD group, which were lower than those of the control group [(102.32±19.56) % and (355.31±150.65) μg /ml, respectively, P<0.05]. The ECP levels of the sputum were (184.25±62.52) μg /L and (41.33±10.65) μg /L, respectively, and the IL-8 levels were (405.31±228.41) ng/ml, (740.26±168.57) ng/ml and (19.23±10.66) ng/ml, respectively, in the asthma group and the COPD group, which were significantly higher than those of the control group [(17.05±9.77) μg/L and (19.23±10.66) ng/ml, respectively, P<0.05]. And the ECP levels in the asthma group were higher than those of the COPD group (P<0.05), however, the IL-8 levels in the asthma group were lower than those of the COPD group (P<0.05).

COPD is an airway inflammation mainly by neutrophil infiltration and asthma is mainly by eosinophil infiltration. The CP, MPO and IL-8 levels of the former are higher than those of the latter, while Hpx, AMG and ECP levels are lower than those of the latter, which can be used as a basis for their identification.