Within- and between-person variability of exhaled breath condensate pH and NH4+ in never and current smokers

Summary Recent studies have suggested that the collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) may be a viable method in occupational field studies to sample secretions of the lower airway because it is simple to perform and non-invasive. However, there are unresolved questions about whether certain l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Respiratory medicine 2008-03, Vol.102 (3), p.457-463
Main Authors: Do, Ron, Bartlett, Karen H, Chu, Winnie, Dimich-Ward, Helen, Kennedy, Susan M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Asthma
Biomarkers
Biomarkers - analysis
Breath Tests - methods
Calibration
Cigarettes
Female
Humans
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Male
Medical research
Oxidative stress
Pulmonary/Respiratory
Quaternary Ammonium Compounds - analysis
Regression Analysis
Reproducibility of Results
Smoking
Smoking - physiopathology
Studies
Time Factors
Tobacco smoke
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Summary:Summary Recent studies have suggested that the collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) may be a viable method in occupational field studies to sample secretions of the lower airway because it is simple to perform and non-invasive. However, there are unresolved questions about whether certain laboratory conditions may influence the analysis of EBC biomarker measurements. A total of 12 subjects performed 116 EBC tests. The effect of short and long-term sample storage and sample volume on two biomarkers of acid stress, pH and NH4+ , in EBC were investigated and did not significantly influence either marker measurement after argon deaeration. We also investigated the variability and the effect of smoking on the biomarkers by collecting six samples each from five adult never smokers and five adult current smokers over a period of 1 month ( n =60 total). For pH, the within-person and between-person variability was larger in current smokers compared to never smokers. Similar results were found for NH4+ . Cigarette packs smoked per day now was also associated with both pH ( p =0.01) and NH4+ ( p =0.04) using mixed effects regression analysis. The variability and smoking results suggest that repeated measurements of EBC pH and NH4+ from the same individual may accurately predict the biological state of the airways of current smokers when compared to never smokers.
ISSN:0954-6111
1532-3064
DOI:10.1016/j.rmed.2007.10.002