Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of low dose azithromycin on TNF-α, IL-8, CRP levels in peripheral blood and pulmonary function of elderly patients with stable stage of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods From January 2013 to December 2015, 100 patients with COPD in our hospital were involved in the study and randomly divided into two groups, including 50 cases who received conventional bronchiectasis and expectorant medicine as the control group, while 50 patients who received conventional therapy with supplementary low dose azithromycin as the observation group. Forced vital capacity in 1st second (FEV₁), forced vital capacity (FVC), percentage of forced vital capacity in 1st second (FEV₁%), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8), C-reactive protein (CRP) and arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO₂) were observed and recorded. Results Compared with the indexes before treatment, the PaO₂, FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC and FEV₁% were significantly higher, and the TNF-α, IL-8 and CRP were significantly lower after 6 months treatment in the observation group (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the indexes of pulmonary function and inflammatory factors in peripheral blood in the observation group were significantly improved after 6 months treatment, with statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups of MIC value of pathogenic bacteria and azithromycin in sputum samples before treatment and after treatment for 6 months (P >0.05). Conclusion Low dose azithromycin can significantly improve pulmonary function and reduce airway inflammation in elderly patients with stable stage of COPD, which is worthy of further clinical promotion.

Key words: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, low dose azithromycin, inflammatory factor, pulmonary function