[The place of the analysis of exhaled breath condensate in obstructive pulmonary diseases].
The number of publications on the analysis of the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) has increased considerably over the last five years. The EBC is a new, noninvasive and inexpensive technique which requires a minimum of cooperation on behalf of the patient. The condensate obtained consists of more than 99.99% of water vapour, to which are added various substances which reflect the inflammatory status of the airways. It is now especially used to characterize the inflammatory state of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD. This article describes the technique and reviews the main data from the current literature.
Université de Liège, Belgique.
C
C
Renkin
J L
JL
Corhay
R
R
Louis
D001944:Breath Tests; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
D014867:Water