NPPB and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: As CRP, cTnT and NT-proBNP have already been identified as markers that predict prognosis in COPD patients after an episode of acute exacerbation (Marcun et al. 2012; Brekke et al. 2008; Hoiseth et al. 2011; Medina et al. 2011; Chang et al. 2011), we have correlated HSP27 concentrations with those markers.