RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Exclusion of asthma for screening purposes using exhaled air molecular profiling by electronic nose
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP p4168
VO 38
IS Suppl 55
A1 N. Fens
A1 Y. Gaarthuis
A1 A.C. Bos
A1 N.J.J. Schlösser
A1 P.J. Sterk
YR 2011
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p4168.abstract
AB Background: Asthma is presently diagnosed by its clinical presentation, including the presence of dyspnea, cough, chest tightness and wheezing (GINA). When combined with bronchial challenge testing, asthma can be assessed with high accuracy. Excluding asthma is the primary objective when screening for military service. Profiles of exhaled compounds as measured by electronic nose (eNose) could be a rapid non-invasive test for this purpose.Hypothesis: Exhaled breath molecular profiles measured by eNose can be used to exclude asthma in a screening setting for military recruits.Methods: Military recruits (16-27 yr, mean 19.8; M/F 64/11) were included in a cross-sectional study. Exhaled breath samples were measured by DiagNose eNose (C-it, Zutphen, NL). Symptoms of asthma were assessed by validated questionnaires (Burney et al, ERJ '94) and a histamine challenge test was performed. Asthma was considered to be present when both symptoms and PC20<8 were present (gold standard). ROC analysis was performed to assess optimal specificity.Results: 75 recruits were included, of which 21 had a gold standard diagnosis of asthma. ROC analysis of exhaled breath profiling resulted in an AUC of 0.70 (p=0.007).Optimal specificity reached 89% (sensitivity 48%).Conclusion: Exhaled breath molecular profiling using an eNose can be a suitable screening instrument to exclude asthma in young, otherwise healthy military recruits.