Abstract
Objectives: Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is a rare lung disease. Little is known about the short term variation of inflammatory markers and the lung function in patients with persistant, stable BO.
Methods: Twenty patients with BO (median age=14.63, range 8.3 - 24.3) performed lung function tests, airway reversibility testing, and induction of sputum within four to six weeks. We investigated sputum cell count, inflammatory cytokines (1ß, IL-6 and IL-8) as well as lung function in patients with BO compared to healthy controls.
Results: Short term variation of lung function parameters was low in patients with BO and compared to healthy controls significantly lower for FVC, FEV1, FVC/FEV1, and MEF25. Sputum cell count revealed a neutrophilic inflammation with elevated levels for IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-8.
Conclusions: Short-term variability of VCmax, FEV1, FVC and sputum neutrophilia is low in BO patients. This finding should be considered to identify successful treatment options for BO patients.
- Copyright ©the authors 2016
