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Review: Analysis of exhaled breath condensate in respiratory medicine: methodological aspects and potential clinical applications

Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy, pmontuschi{at}rm.unicatt.it

Analysis of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a noninvasive method for studying the composition of airway lining fluid and has the potential for assessing lung inflammation. EBC is mainly formed by water vapor, but also contains aerosol particles in which several biomolecules including leukotrienes, 8-isoprostane, prostaglandins, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide-derived products, and hydrogen ions, have been detected in healthy subjects. Inflammatory mediators in EBC are detected in healthy subjects and some of them are elevated in patients with different lung diseases. Analysis of EBC is completely noninvasive, is particularly suitable for longitudinal studies, and is potentially useful for assessing the response to pharmacological therapy. Identification of selective profiles of biomarkers of lung diseases might also have a diagnostic value. However, EBC analysis currently has important limitations. The lack of standardized procedures for EBC analysis and validation of some analytical techniques makes it difficult comparison of results from different laboratories. Analysis of EBC is currently more useful for relative measures than for quantitative assessment of inflammatory mediators. Reference analytical techniques are required to provide definitive evidence for the presence of some inflammatory mediators in EBC and for their accurate quantitative assessment in this biological fluid. Several methodological issues need to be addressed before EBC analysis can be considered for clinical applications. However, further research in this area is warranted due to the relative lack of noninvasive methods for assessing lung inflammation.

Key Words: exhaled breath condensate • airway inflammation • non-invasive assessment • therapeutic monitoring • asthma • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease • eicosanoids

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