Introduction:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presents with an inflammatory pattern in the airway that includes neutrophils, macrophages, and lymphocytes, which can be obtained by cytological bronchial brushing.

Objectives:

To identify inflammatory pattern according to inflammatory cells present in the airway, through cytological bronchial brushing and smoking rate of packs/year in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Methods:

A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, who attended Benefico-Jurídico Pneumological Hospital, from June 2018 to June 2019, with an indication for fiberoptic bronchoscopy with bronchial brushing.

Results:

53.1% of the patients correspond to the male sex. 46.1% had a smoking rate of packs/year between 21-40. Crypts and striae predominated as bronchoscopic findings with 51% and 40.8% respectively in patients with a pack/year index greater than 40. Patients with a pack/year index greater than 40 (13 for 26.5%) showed basal cell hyperplasia. 46.9% of the patients had a neutrophilic inflammatory pattern.

Conclusions:

Patients with COPD who had a neutrophilic inflammatory pattern in the airway and high smoking index were identified, and from the bronchoscopic point of view they have several findings that suggest chronicity.

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