Use of induced sputum to examine airway inflammation in childhood asthma☆,☆☆,★
Section snippets
ASSESSMENT OF INFLAMMATION
Typically, airway inflammation has been assessed by bronchoscopic studies by means of biopsies, bronchial brushings, and bronchoalveolar lavage. A limited number of these studies have been conducted in children. They indicate that the presence of airway eosinophilia and mast cell activation correlates with airway hyperresponsiveness.3, 4 Bronchoscopy is comparatively invasive and of limited use to study large numbers of children with asthma on repeated occasions. Recently, the technique of
INDUCED SPUTUM IN CHILDHOOD ASTHMA
The results of induced sputum from normal children show that the predominant cell is the macrophage; eosinophils and mast cells are seldom seen. Eosinophils comprise less than 2.5% of cells in normal children.
In contrast, in children with stable asthma there are increased numbers of eosinophils and mast cells. There is a range of sputum eosinophil counts in children with stable asthma. The significance of this range has yet to be defined. It will be important to establish whether there is an
CONCLUSION
There is a need to conduct studies in children to establish the role of airway inflammation in childhood asthma. From these studies we may gain new insights into the pathogenesis of asthma that may not be possible from studies in adults. Research to date indicates that induced sputum is a suitable way to obtain airway secretions for the study of airway inflammation in childhood asthma. Eosinophils and mast cells form the characteristic inflammatory cell profile in stable childhood asthma, and
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Cited by (0)
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From the Department of Respiratory Medicine, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle.
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Reprint requests: Peter G. Gibson, MBBS, FRACP, Department of Respiratory Medicine, John Hunter Hospital, Locked Bag 1 Hunter Region Mail Centre, Lookout Rd, New Lambton Heights, New South Wales 2305, Australia.
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