STUDY OBJECTIVES To evaluate the use of a rapid strip test for the quick evaluation of sputum quality. DESIGN Prospective, double-blind study. Sputum and saliva samples were collected. Sputum quality was assessed by the presence of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) and squamous epithelial cells (SECs) per low-power (microscopic) field (LPF) [x10 objective]. Sputum was defined as follows: (...

OBJECTIVES To determine the proportion of pediatric patients with cystic fibrosis who do not produce expectorated sputum during routine ambulatory clinic visits and to identify clinical predictors of these patients. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING The cystic fibrosis clinic at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario. PARTICIPANTS One hundred eighty-three patients aged 6 to ...

INTRODUCTION Measurements of eosinophils in induced sputum and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) are noninvasive biomarkers for assessing airway inflammation phenotypes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the clinical application of the correlation between FeNO levels and sputum eosinophilia is controversial. The study aimed to investigate the correlation and pre...

The relationship between nitric oxide in exhaled air, levels of sputum eosinophils, sputum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and urinary eosinophil protein X (EPX) excretion has not yet been investigated in corticosteroid-dependent childhood asthma. Therefore, taking 25 children with stable asthma (mean age 11.2 yrs) treated with inhaled corticosteroids and nine nonatopic healthy control childr...

BACKGROUND The impact of tuberculosis (TB) is exacerbated in Africa because of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic. Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) diagnosis is difficult in HIV-infected patients and negative sputum results are more common which leads to diagnostic delay and increases morbidity and mortality. Extra-pulmonary samples such as stool may be easier to obtain and our approac...

BACKGROUND There is consisting evidence that asthma is associated with airway inflammation. Originally IL-10 and IL-2 were described as lymphokines produced by T cells in mediating cellular infiltration into the airways and continue to be of interest in evaluating asthma pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum and sputum levels of IL-2 and IL-10 in asthmatic subjects and h...

Noninvasive markers of airway inflammation are needed for use in research and clinical practice in childhood asthma. Induced sputum and exhaled nitric oxide are well established as direct markers of inflammation for use in asthma research. Sputum can be induced from children of >6 yrs using inhalation of hypertonic saline, and, if appropriate, can be combined with an assessment of airway respon...

Counting coated and uncoated inorganic fibers in sputum has been used to investigate the level of environmental or occupational asbestos exposure and the concentration of fibrous dusts in human lung. Inorganic fibers in sputum were counted by light microscopy after chemical digestion and microfiltration processing. The same method was used for processing gastric juice and lung tissue. There wer...

The monitoring of airway inflammation has assessed in bronchial asthma directly by sputum examination, and indirectly by measurements in peripheral blood. To investigate the diagnostic value of these two methods, we compared nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, eosinophils, and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in sputum and blood in patients with asthma and control subjects. Sputum and serum were ob...

Wood processing workers are exposed to wood-associated microbiological contaminants, including fungi. Our aim was to study the potential association between sputum fungus and adverse respiratory effects in such workers. In a group of sawmill workers, we administered a respiratory questionnaire, performed lung function testing and quantified the proportions of leukocytes in spontaneously expecto...