Abstract
BACKGROUND: The principle aim of this study was to describe the variability of exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) concentrations over 10 months in children with and without asthma.
METHODS: FE(NO) was measured on six occasions at 2-month intervals in a community-based cohort of children with and without asthma.
RESULTS: There were 178 children recruited, 47 had asthma, mean age 9.6 yr. A total of 851 FE(NO) measurements were made. The change in FE(NO) values was positively associated with the initial FE(NO) concentration (p < 0.001) and duration between paired measurements (p = 0.016) but not asthma diagnosis; there was an interaction between initial FE(NO) and duration between measurements. As an approximate rule-of-thumb, a child's FE(NO) may rise by up to 100% of their current FE(NO) over 2 and 4 months, independent of asthma.
CONCLUSIONS: Both the baseline FE(NO) and interval between repeated FE(NO) measurements are relevant to FE(NO) values, independent of asthma. These findings may be useful to clinical interpretation of FE(NO) results in children.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 540-548 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Pediatric Allergy & Immunology |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 31 Jul 2013 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2013 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsWe are grateful to Eric Cauldwell for providing pollen counts. We are also indebted to the children, parents and school staff who made this study possible. Aerocrine provided consumables for the present study as part of an Investigator Sponsored Study but were not involved in the design of the study or the analysis or preparation of this report.
Keywords
- Asthma
- child
- nitric oxide
- longitudinal study