Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Apr;4(2):65-70.
doi: 10.4103/1817-1737.44649.

Exhaled nitric oxide in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Mohammed F S Beg  1 , Mohammad A Alzoghaibi, Abdullah A Abba, Syed S Habib
Affiliations

Exhaled nitric oxide in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Mohammed F S Beg et al. Ann Thorac Med. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

Study objective: The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is elevated in nonsmoking subjects with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and compare it with the results in patients with asthma and a control population.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Materials and methods: Pulmonology Clinic at a University Hospital. Twenty five control subjects, 25 steroid naïve asthmatics and 14 COPD patients were studied. All the patients were nonsmokers and stable at the time of the study. All subjects completed a questionnaire and underwent spirometry. Exhaled nitric oxide was measured online by chemiluminescence, using single-breath technique.

Results: All the study subjects were males. Subjects with stable COPD had significantly higher values of FENO than controls (56.54+/-28.01 vs 22.00+/-6.69; P=0.0001) but lower than the subjects with asthma (56.54+/-28.01 vs 84.78+/-39.32 P=0.0285).The FENO values in COPD subjects were inversely related to the FEV/₁FVC ratio. There was a significant overlap between the FENO values in COPD and the control subjects.

Conclusion: There is a significant elevation in FENO in patients with stable COPD, but the elevation is less than in asthmatic subjects. Its value in clinical practice may be limited by the significant overlap with control subjects.

Keywords: Asthma; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; exhaled nitric oxide; stable.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Linear regression analysis showing relationship between FEV1/FVC ratio and FENO levels in healthy subjects (r = 0.1079, P = 0.5633)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Linear regression analysis showing relationship between FEV1/FVC ratio and FENO levels in asthma subjects (r = −0.3076, P = 0.1346)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Linear regression analysis showing relationship between FEV1/FVC ratio and FENO levels in COPD subjects (r = −0.5855, P = 0.0278)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Buga GM, Ignarro LJ. Electrical field stimulation causes endothelium-dependent and nitric oxide-mediated relaxation of pulmonary artery. Am J Physiol. 1992;262:H973–9. - PubMed
    1. Belvisi MG, Stretton CD, Yacoub M, Barnes PJ. Nitric oxide is the endogenous neurotransmitter of bronchodilator nerves in humans. Eur J Pharmacol. 1992;210:221–2. - PubMed
    1. Jain B, Rubinstein I, Robbins RA, Leise KL, Sisson JH. Modulation of airway epithelial cell ciliary beat frequency by nitric oxide. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1993;191:83–8. - PubMed
    1. Hyde RW, Geigel EJ, Olszowka AJ, Krasney JA, Forster RE, 2nd, Utell MJ, et al. Determination of production of nitric oxide by lower airways of humans-theory. J Appl Physiol. 1997;82:1290–6. - PubMed
    1. Paraskakis E, Brindicci C, Fleming L, Krol R, Kharitonov SA, Wilson NM, et al. Measurement of bronchial and alveolar nitric oxide production in normal children and children with asthma. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006;174:260–7. - PubMed