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New test discloses inflammation in asbestosis non-invasively

At last it is possible to assess lung inflammation non-invasively in patients with asbestosis, say researchers, by looking for raised exhaled nitric oxide (NO) and inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate. In time this might become a diagnostic criterion, they speculate.

They found significantly raised concentrations of NO, corresponding to alveolar NO, in patients versus controls when measured by multiple exhalation flow rates, but not the single standard flow rate recommended by the American Thoracic Society (ATS). They also found—for the first time in patients with asbestosis—high amounts of leucotriene B4 and 8-isoprostane in exhaled breath condensate compared with controls. Serum inflammatory markers C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and myeloperoxidase were also raised.

These results came from 15 non-smoking patients with asbestosis, mean age 62 years, average age at exposure to asbestos 20.5 years, on average 25.6 years ago, and the same number of healthy non-smoking age and sex matched controls. Subjects . . . [Full text of this article]