Exhaled nitric oxide as an early marker of asthma

Abstract EN

According to the World Health Organization, asthma is now a serious public health problem with over 300 million sufferers.

Despite the availability of effective therapies, asthma remains a source of significant morbidity and use of health care resources.

Measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) has recently become of great interest in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of Asthma.

Concentration of exhaled nitric oxide is markedly elevated in asthma, and its elevation is positively related to the degree of eosinophilic airway inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness and symptoms.

Measurement of exhaled NO has been proposed as a noninvasive marker of asthma.

Its measurement has recently been standardized by both American thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society, and there are now commercially available nitric oxide analyzers.

This paper briefly reviews the role of Exhaled Nitric Oxide in the pathophysiology of asthma, and its role as a useful objective tool for diagnosing and monitoring asthma