Publications (2)5.03 Total impact
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Article: The use of exhaled nitric oxide concentration to identify eosinophilic airway inflammation: an observational study in adults with asthma.
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ABSTRACT: Assessment of eosinophilic airway inflammation may be helpful in the management of asthma. Nitric oxide (NO) has potential advantages as a tool to monitor airway inflammation although little is known about the relationship between NO and eosinophilic airway inflammation and the factors which influence it. We set out to define the relationship between exhaled NO and the sputum eosinophil count, identify the exhaled NO concentration that best identified a sputum eosinophil count >3% and investigate the impact of several potential confounding factors in 566 consecutive patients with varying severity of asthma. Finally we examined the ability of exhaled NO concentrations measured at differing exhalation flows to identify the presence of a sputum eosinophilia. We found a significant positive relationship between exhaled NO and sputum eosinophil count (R(2)=0.26, P<0.001) which was best described using a non-linear model. There were no clinically important confounding factors to this model. In non-smokers an exhaled NO concentration of >8.3 p.p.b. at 250 mL/s gave 71% sensitivity and 72% specificity for identifying a sputum eosinophil count of >3%. This value of exhaled NO would seem to be the best for identifying significant eosinophilic airway inflammation. It is applicable to a wide range of non-smoking patients with asthma; exhalation flow does not alter the ability of exhaled NO concentration to detect a sputum eosinophilia.Clinical & Experimental Allergy 10/2005; 35(9):1175-9. · 5.03 Impact Factor -
Article: The Use of Exhaled Nitric Oxide to Guide Asthma Management: A Randomised Controlled Trial.
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ABSTRACT: This is the author’s final draft of the paper published as Shaw et al, 2007, The Use of Exhaled Nitric Oxide to Guide Asthma Management: A Randomised Controlled Trial, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 176, pp. 231-237. Official Journal of the American Thoracic Society, ©American Thoracic Society. The final published version is available at http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/, Doi: 10.1164/rccm.200610-1427OC. Rationale: Current asthma guidelines recommend adjusting antiinflammatory treatment on the basis of the results of lung function tests and symptom assessment, neither of which are closely associated with airway inflammation. Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that titrating corticosteroid dose using the concentration of exhaled nitric oxide in exhaled breath (FENO) results in fewer asthma exacerbations and more efficient use of corticosteroids, when compared with traditional management. Methods: One hundred eighteen participants with a primary care diagnosis of asthma were randomized to a single-blind trial of corticosteroid therapy based on either FENO measurements (n = 58) or British Thoracic Society guidelines (n = 60). Participants were assessed monthly for 4 months and then every 2 months for a further 8 months. The primary outcome was the number of severe asthma exacerbations. Analyses were by intention to treat. Measurements and Main Results: The estimated mean (SD) exacerbation frequency was 0.33 per patient per year (0.69) in the FENO group and 0.42 (0.79) in the control group (mean difference, –21%; 95% confidence interval [CI], –57 to 43%; p = 0.43). Overall the FENO group used 11% more inhaled corticosteroid (95% CI, –17 to 42%; p = 0.40), although the final daily dose of inhaled corticosteroid was lower in the FENO group (557 vs. 895 µg; mean difference, 338 µg; 95% CI, –640 to –37; p = 0.028). Conclusions: An asthma treatment strategy based on the measurement of exhaled nitric oxide did not result in a large reduction in asthma exacerbations or in the total amount of inhaled corticosteroid therapy used over 12 mo, when compared with current asthma guidelines.
