%0 Journal Article %A Voicu Tudorache %A Crina Babiciu %A Cristian Oancea %A Monica Marc %A Emmanuela Tudorache %A Danina Muntean %A Ovidiu Fira-Mladinescu %T Exhaled nitric oxide may predict future benefit in patients with poorly controlled asthma %D 2011 %J European Respiratory Journal %P 1694 %V 38 %N Suppl 55 %X Dynamic changes in exhaled nitric oxide fraction (FeNO) are highly predictive for asthma control, whereas its absolute values are often in discrepancy with patients' clinical status.Aim: To evaluate the potential of baseline FeNO to identify in regular clinical practice the individuals with suboptimal controlled asthma who have the potential to achieve control according to a guideline-based approach.Methods: 165 patients seen for two consecutive visits with uncontrolled asthma (defined as a score of ≤ 19 in the Asthma Control Test) at the first visit were included in the study. The exclusion criteria were limited to smokers and overlaping COPD since the study was purported to reflect the real-life practice.Results: In ROC curve analysis, a greater absolute value of FeNO at the first visit was associated with the acquirement of asthma control in the second one (AUC – area under the curve was 0.7816, p<0.0001). Its predictive performance with respect to the future control of the disease did not significantly differ between patients with and without allergic rhinitis (AUC was 0.7661 vs. 0.7918; p = 0.35), even if the mean value of FeNO was greater in the former group (33.72±1.98 vs. 29.27±1.96, p=0.006). In uncontrolled asthma, values of FeNO > 35 ppb in patients with, and > 30 ppb in patients without allergic rhinitis, predicted future benefits (the positive predictive value was 85.42% and 91.97%, respectively).Conclusion: Our results suggest that the fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide might be an important predictive tool in assessing asthma control and future benefit over time even in patients with underlying atopy, as expressed by the presence of allergic rhinitis. %U