@article {MarshallP1623, author = {Lucy Marshall and Caroline Beardsmore and Will Montero and Ani{\~n}a Pescatore and Claudia Kuehni and Erol Gaillard}, title = {Increased airway inflammation in asymptomatic older teenagers with previous well characterised childhood wheeze}, volume = {42}, number = {Suppl 57}, elocation-id = {P1623}, year = {2013}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {Background: Many children with preschool wheeze become asymptomatic only for asthma to be diagnosed in adulthood. Persistent {\textquoteleft}multiple trigger{\textquoteright} wheeze (PW) is thought to be more closely associated with {\textquoteleft}true{\textquoteright} asthma than transient viral wheeze (TW). A previous study showed persistent eosinophilic airway inflammation in children with remitted wheezing [Warke T ERJ 2002]. Whether this inflammation persists in older teenagers and whether this differs between wheeze phenotypes is unknown.Aims: We compared total and differential sputum inflammation cell counts in asymptomatic teenagers from the Leicester Respiratory Cohort, who had TW, PW or no wheeze during preschool years.Methods: 29 subjects (range: 16-17 years) participated: 9 with PW; 10 with TW; and 10 healthy controls. We induced sputum with nebulised hypertonic saline and processed samples as previously described [Pin I Thorax 1992].Results: Median \% eosinophils for PW and TW were significantly higher than controls (figure 1). Total cell counts were significantly greater in PW only.Discussion: We found increased airway inflammation (both total inflammatory cell load and eosinophilic inflammation) in sputum of adolescents with childhood wheezing after a symptom free interval. Eosinophilic inflammation was not different between PW and TW. These findings have implications for the understanding of the natural history of childhood wheeze.}, issn = {0903-1936}, URL = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P1623}, eprint = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P1623.full.pdf}, journal = {European Respiratory Journal} }