CHANGES OF EXHALED
NITRIC OXIDE IN CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA
Xiang L, Liu
S-Y, Jiang Z-F
Beijing Children¡¯s
Hospital, Beijing, China
Objective: To
detect changes in exhaled nitric oxide (NO) in children with asthma.
Methods: The
concentration of exhaled NO was measured by chemiluminescence method in 128
normal children (7-12years of age) and 76 asthmatic children (6-14years of
age). The FEV1% of asthmatic children was measured by a
spirometer at the same time. The authors monitored the changes in exhaled NO
and airway responsiveness in 21 asthmatic children for 8 months after
treatment.
Results: The
concentration of exhaled NO of asthmatic children was significantly higher
than that of the normal children (39¡À21 ppb vs 23¡À13 ppb,P<0.001). The analysis on FEV1%
and exhaled NO of 76 asthmatic children showed no significant correlation.
Decreased exhaled NO and degree of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in
remission state after treatment of 2 weeks (27¡À9 ppb vs 44¡À18 ppb, P<0.05) were found among the 11
asthmatic children treated with inhaled glucocorticoids, while these two
indexes did not change significantly among the other 10 asthmatic children
who did not receive inhaled glucocorticoids (P>0.05).
Conclusion:
Asthmatic children present increased concentration of exhaled NO. Inhaled
glucocorticoids can decrease concentration of exhaled NO and degree of AHR.