Gabriele Carmelo, Nieuwhof Eveline M, Van Der Wiel Els C, Hofhuis Ward, Moll Henriette A, Merkus Peter J F M, De Jongste Johan C
Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Erasmus Medical Centre/Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, 3000 CB, the Netherlands.
Pediatr Res. 2006 Oct;60(4):461-5. doi: 10.1203/01.pdr.0000238242.39881.64. Epub 2006 Aug 28.
Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) levels are increased in children and adults with asthma, whereas low levels have been found in cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether FE(NO) measurements could distinguish between children below the age of 2 with different airway diseases. FE(NO) measurements were performed in 118 infants aged between 4.6 and 25.2 mo: 74 infants with recurrent wheezing (RW), 24 with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and 20 with cystic fibrosis (CF). FE(NO) was measured also in 100 healthy controls aged between 1.1 and 7.7 mo. Geometric mean (95% confidence interval) FE(NO) values were 10.4 (9.1-12.0) parts per billion (ppb) in healthy infants, 18.6 (15.6-22.2) ppb in wheezy infants, 11.7 (8.2-16.8) ppb in BPD infants and 5.9 (3.4-10.1) ppb in CF infants. FE(NO) in wheezers was higher than in controls, BPD, and CF (p = 0.009, p = 0.038, and p < 0.001, respectively). Atopic wheezers showed higher FE(NO) than nonatopic wheezers (p = 0.04). CF infants had lower FE(NO) than healthy controls and BPD infants (p = 0.003 and p = 0.043, respectively). FE(NO) values in BPD and control infants were not different. We conclude that FE(NO) is helpful to differentiate various airway diseases already in the first 2 y of life.
哮喘儿童和成人的呼出一氧化氮分数（FE(NO)）水平升高，而在囊性纤维化和原发性纤毛运动障碍患者中发现其水平较低。本研究的目的是调查FE(NO)测量是否能区分2岁以下患有不同气道疾病的儿童。对118名年龄在4.6至25.2个月的婴儿进行了FE(NO)测量：74名反复喘息（RW）婴儿、24名支气管肺发育不良（BPD）婴儿和20名囊性纤维化（CF）婴儿。还对100名年龄在1.1至7.7个月的健康对照婴儿进行了FE(NO)测量。健康婴儿的FE(NO)几何平均值（95%置信区间）为10.4（9.1 - 12.0）十亿分之一（ppb），喘息婴儿为18.6（15.6 - 22.2）ppb，BPD婴儿为11.7（8.2 - 16.8）ppb，CF婴儿为5.9（3.4 - 10.1）ppb。喘息婴儿的FE(NO)高于对照组、BPD组和CF组（分别为p = 0.009、p = 0.038和p < 0.001）。特应性喘息婴儿的FE(NO)高于非特应性喘息婴儿（p = 0.04）。CF婴儿的FE(NO)低于健康对照婴儿和BPD婴儿（分别为p = 0.003和p = 0.043）。BPD婴儿和对照婴儿的FE(NO)值无差异。我们得出结论，FE(NO)有助于在生命的头2年区分各种气道疾病。
