Stratification of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Using Volatile Organic Compounds

K P Exarchos; C Chronis; L Lipirou; V Sakkas; K Kostikas

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-78771-4_1

Stratification of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Using Volatile Organic Compounds

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021:1337:1-7. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-78771-4_1.

Authors

K P Exarchos¹, C Chronis², L Lipirou³, V Sakkas³, K Kostikas²

Affiliations

¹ Respiratory Medicine Department, School of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece. [email protected].
² Respiratory Medicine Department, School of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.

PMID: 34972885
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-78771-4_1

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease that causes long-term disability and death. Its natural history is punctuated by acute worsening of symptoms, called exacerbations, which are associated with increased mortality and hospitalization. In this work, we aim to stratify patients with COPD based on their risk for exacerbation; for this purpose, we employ non-invasive biomarkers, that is, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), acquired from the patients' exhaled breath coupled with their spirometry and age. We utilize a series of classification schemes with the best performing one achieving overall Accuracy = 93.5%. The yielded results are, therefore, encouraging and prompt for further investigation toward the utilization of VOCs in the management of COPD.

Keywords: COPD; Chronic bronchitis; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Classification; Emphysema; Exacerbation; Feature selection; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds.

MeSH terms

Biomarkers
Breath Tests
Disease Progression
Exhalation
Humans
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / diagnosis
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / drug therapy
Volatile Organic Compounds*

Substances

Biomarkers
Volatile Organic Compounds