[Verification of exhaled air temperature and heat flux in respiratory diseases as useful biomarker]

Abstract

Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diffuse panbronchiolitis are syndromes associated with chronic airway inflammation. In the conventional definition of inflammation, local pyrexia at the site of inflammation should be observed. However, there are very few reports that have evaluated the "heat" in inflammatory respiratory diseases. We considered that the evaluation of allergic airway inflammation such as asthma might be possible by measuring the exhaled air temperature, and devised an original device that stabilizes the flow rate, which is a very important factor for the direct measurement of heat. Moreover, an expiratory heat flux meter, which can detect a change in air temperature more precisely and immediately, was also incorporated into our original device. As a result, we succeeded in the measurement and evaluation of the heat flux and air temperature in healthy subjects and asthmatic patients, and, further, the air temperature was straightforwardly evaluated by a portable spirometer including a temperature sensor. These findings suggest that the heat flux and temperature of exhaled air can be used to objectively monitor airway inflammation noninvasively, and assist in the diagnosis/monitoring of inflammatory respiratory diseases, including asthma.