The aetiopathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the possible influence of Ascaris lumbricoides on the development of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) in patients with COPD. The prevalence of A. lumbricoides in patients with COPD with CPA (19.05%) was significantly higher than that in those without (9.20%) and controls (4.9%) (p < 0.05). Trends in levels of Interleukin-1β and of tumour necrosis factor α suggest ascariasis increases susceptibility to Aspergillus sp. in patients with COPD and can be considered an additional risk factor for CPA.
Keywords: Ascaris lumbricoides; Aspergillus sp.; COPD; chronic pulmonary aspergillosis; cytokines.