Methodological Issues and Possible Clinical Implications for Exhaled Breath Condensate pH in Asthma

Title:Methodological Issues and Possible Clinical Implications for Exhaled Breath Condensate pH in Asthma

Volume: 16 Issue: 14

Author(s): Andras Bikov and Ildiko Horvath

Affiliation:

Keywords: Airway acidity; Airway inflammation; Asthma; Breath test; Exhaled breath condensate; Exhaled breath condensate pH.

Abstract: Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH is a commonly studied biomarker which represents the acidity of the whole airway tract, including the lower and upper airways as well as oral cavity. Because neat, unprocessed EBC pH can be affected by environmental and end-tidal carbon dioxide, two further reproducible techniques have been developed to measure condensate acidity with several methodological, pathophysiological and environmental factors which may influence EBC pH. Airway acidification may contribute to various pathological features of asthma, therefore EBC pH may be a non-invasive, but unspecific clinical biomarker of this disorder. This review summarises the current knowledge on EBC pH in asthma focusing on methodological aspects and possible clinical applications.

Cite this article as:

Bikov Andras and Horvath Ildiko, Methodological Issues and Possible Clinical Implications for Exhaled Breath Condensate pH in Asthma, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2016; 16 (14) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568026616666150930120421