Asthma severity and inflammation markers in children

Abstract

Neither did any marker of airway inflammation relate to recent symptoms, unlike PC20, which did. There was a significant, inverse correlation between the forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and both NO and sputum ECP (r=-0.46, p=<0.001; r=-0.48, p=0.004, respectively). Sputum eosinophils were inversely related to the dose of methacholine that corresponded to a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20) (r=-0.57, p=0.02). Serum ECP did not relate to any measure of asthma control. There was no association of any recommended inflammation markers with current symptoms and only a weak relationship between them and physiological measures. The place of these markers remains unclear and their use in clinical practice needs further investigation by long-term longitudinal studies.