Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) in Patients Hospitalized for an Exacerbation of Bronchiectasis and/or COPD: FeNO Levels in COPD and Bronchiectasis
Author
Malli F., Gouvani A., Dimeas I., Ladias S., Papathanasiou I.V., Gourgoulianis K.I., Daniil Z.Date
2021Language
en
Keyword
Abstract
Exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) represents an important marker of airway inflammation, yet its role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and/or bronchiectasis is not well studied. We aimed to measure FeNO in patients with COPD, bronchiectasis, and combination of COPD/bronchiectasis during an acute exacerbation (AE) of the underlying disease as well as to describe the characteristics of patients with COPD/bronchiectasis overlap in patients hospitalized for an acute exacerbation (AE). Seventy-nine patients were enrolled in the study as follows: COPD n = 45, bronchiectasis n = 18, and COPD and bronchiectasis n = 16. FeNO was measured with a commercially available analyzer within 24 hours of admission and at discharge. FeNO differed significantly on admission when compared at discharge in the whole group (16.91 ± 16.14 vs 12.48 ± 10.67, p = 0.008, respectively). On admission, FeNO was 17.80 ± 18.77 ppb in COPD patients, 17.12 ± 6.59 in bronchiectasis patients, and 11.55 ± 2.42 in patients with COPD/bronchiectasis overlap. At discharge, FeNO was 12.40 ± 12.11 ppb in COPD patients, 15.50 ± 6.39 in bronchiectasis patients, and 9.00 ± 3.22 in patients with combination. FeNO differed significantly in bronchiectasis patients versus patients with COPD/bronchiectasis overlap at admission (p = 0.043) and at discharge (p = 0.020) and versus COPD patients at discharge (p = 0.043). FeNO decreased significantly during the AE in all groups (p = 0.001 for COPD, p = 0.021 for bronchiectasis, and p = 0.026 for combination). FeNO levels in patients with COPD and/or bronchiectasis exacerbation are possibly increased at admission and decrease at discharge. The differences in FeNO levels between groups may reflect different underlying inflammatory mechanisms. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.