Exhaled nitric oxide is reduced in infants with cystic fibrosis.
BACKGROUND
Exhaled nitric oxide levels are low in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), despite the chronic inflammation present in the airways. This study aimed to determine whether levels of exhaled nitric oxide were reduced prior to the onset of respiratory symptoms in infants with CF.


METHODS
The levels of exhaled nitric oxide were measured using a chemiluminescence analyser in five infants with CF and 11 healthy control subjects, both groups having a mean age of 48.6 days.


RESULTS
Mean levels of exhaled nitric oxide were significantly lower in infants with CF than in the control group (4.9 ppb v 12.1 ppb; p=0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
This finding may be the key to understanding the inflammatory processes in early cystic fibrosis and may lead to novel treatment approaches.
Elphick
H E
HE
Pediatric Respiratory Unit, Sheffield Children's Hospital, Sheffield S10 2TH, UK.
Demoncheaux
E A
EA
Ritson
S
S
Higenbottam
T W
TW
Everard
M L
ML
D001944:Breath Tests; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D009569:Nitric Oxide