Effects of active smoking on airway and systemic inflammation profiles in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: The markers that characterize local and systemic inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain unclear, as do their correlations with smoking status and presence of disease. The aim of this study was to assess markers of inflammation in the peripheral blood and airways of current smokers without COPD, of current smokers with COPD and of ex-smokers with COPD.

Methods: In this study, 17 current smokers with COPD (mean age: 58.