Impact of COPD exacerbation on cerebral blood flow

We aimed to investigate the impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation on cerebral blood flow (CBF). In 21 COPD patients — in both exacerbation and stable phases —Doppler ultrasonographies of internal carotid artery (ICA) and vertebral artery (VA) were performed. There were significant differences in total, anterior and posterior CBF, ICA and VA flow volumes in exacerbated COPD compared to stable COPD. Total CBF was correlated with cross-sectional areas of left and right ICA, whereas independent predictor of total CBF was cross-sectional area of right ICA. Increased CBF might indicate cerebral autoregulation-mediated vasodilatation to overcome COPD exacerbation induced hypoxia.