Amaryllis Haccuria

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis Due to Molds in a Saxophone Player

This 48-year-old patient was evaluated for an interstitial pneumonia. An open-lung biopsy showed a pattern of nonspecific interstitial pneumonia. The CT scan appearance, showing mosaic ground-glass opacities in the ventilated parts of the lung, the centrolobular predominance of inflammation on the lung sections, and the presence of a lymphocytic alveolitis at BAL suggested a hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The patient was a white-collar worker and had no contact with pets, birds, drugs, or molds at home. He used to play the saxophone as a hobby. Two molds, Ulocladium botrytis and Phoma sp, were detected in the saxophone. Precipitating antibodies to these molds were present in his serum. An additional study confirmed the frequent colonization of saxophones with potentially pathogenic molds, such as Fusarium sp, Penicillium sp, and Cladosporium sp. Respiratory physicians should be aware of the risk of hypersensitivity pneumonitis in saxophone or perhaps other wind instrument players.

Exhaled nitric oxide: A biomarker integrating both lung function and airway inflammation changes

BACKGROUND The increased fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (Feno) values observed in asthmatic patients are thought to reflect increased airway inflammation. However, Feno values can be affected by airway caliber reduction, representing a bias when using Feno values to assess asthma control. OBJECTIVE We sought to determine the effect of changes in both airway caliber and inflammation on Feno values using the allergen challenge model. METHODS FEV1 and Feno values were measured during early airway responses (EARs) and late airway responses after challenge with house dust mite allergens in 15 patients with mild allergic asthma. Helium and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) phase III expired concentration slopes (SHe and SSF6, respectively) from single-breath washout tests were measured to identify sites of airway constriction. RESULTS In EARs, FEV1 and Feno value decreases reached 36.8% and 22%, respectively (P < .001). ΔSHe was greater than ΔSSF6 (+189.4% vs +82.2%, P = .001). In late airway responses FEV1 and Feno value decreases reached 31.7% and 28.7%, respectively (P < .001), with the same ΔSHe and ΔSSF6 pattern (+155.8% vs +76%, P = .001). Eight hours after the EAR, FEV1 was still decreased (P < .001), whereas Feno values had returned to baseline. At 24 hours, FEV1 had returned to baseline, with Feno values increased by 38.7% (P = .04). CONCLUSION In patients with mild allergic asthma, airway caliber changes modulate changes in Feno values resulting from airway inflammation. Therefore Feno should no longer be considered solely an inflammation biomarker but rather a biomarker that integrates both airway inflammation and lung function changes. Furthermore, early and late phases resulting from allergen exposure were shown to involve similar lung regions.

Different patterns of exhaled nitric oxide response to β2-agonists in asthmatic patients according to the site of bronchodilation.

BACKGROUND In asthmatic patients undergoing airway challenge, fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) levels decrease after bronchoconstriction. In contrast, model simulations have predicted both decreased and increased FENO levels after bronchodilation, depending on the site of airway obstruction relief. OBJECTIVE We sought to investigate whether β2-agonists might induce divergent effects on FENO values in asthmatic patients as a result of airway obstruction relief occurring at different lung depths. METHODS FENO, FEV1, and the slope of phase III of the single-breath washout test (S) of He (S(He)) and sulfur hexafluoride (S(SF6)) were measured in 68 asthmatic patients before and after salbutamol inhalation. S(He) and S(SF6) decreases reflected preacinar and intra-acinar obstruction relief, respectively. Changes (Δ) were expressed as a percentage from the baseline. RESULTS No FENO change (|ΔFENO| ≤ 10%) was found in 16 patients (mean [SD]: 2.5% [5.2%]; ie, FENO= group); a ΔFENO value of greater than 10% was found in 23 patients (31.7% [20.3%]; ie, the FENO+ group); and a ΔFENO value of less than -10% was found in 29 patients (-31.5% [17.3%]; ie, the FENO- group). All groups had similar ΔFEV1 values. In the FENO= group neither S(He) nor S(SF6) changed, in the FENO+ group only S(He) decreased significantly (-21.8% [SD 28.5%], P = .03), and in the FENO- group both S(He) (-29.8% [24.0%], P < .001) and S(SF6) (-27.2% [23.3%], P < .001) decreased. DISCUSSION Three FENO behaviors were observed in response to β2-agonists: a decrease likely caused by relief of an intra-acinar airway obstruction that we propose reflects amplification of nitric oxide back-diffusion, an increase likely associated with a predominant dilation up to the preacinar airways, and FENO stability when obstruction relief involved predominantly the central airways. In combination, these results suggest a new role for FENO in identifying the site of airway obstruction in asthmatic patients.

Airway calibre variation is a major determinant of exhaled nitric oxide's ability to capture asthma control

Changes in airway calibre have the potential to modify exhaled nitric oxide fraction (FENO) values and could hamper how FENO captures changes in asthma control. Here, our objective was to assess whether forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) variations alter the ability of FENO to reflect asthma control. FENO, asthma control (Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)) and FEV1 were measured at least two times in 527 patients during 1819 pairs of visits. Determinants of FENO–ACQ discordance probability were evaluated through a logistic regression analysis. The effectiveness of FENO at capturing either asthma control worsening or improvement between two visits was then assessed by undertaking a stratified receiver operating characteristic curves analysis. When FEV1 and FENO change in the same direction, the odds of FENO–ACQ being discordant are multiplied by 3 (p<0.001). The area under the curve values were 0.765 (95% CI 0.713–0.805) (improvement; p<0.001) and 0.769 (95% 0.706–0.810) (worsening; p<0.001) or 0.590 (95% 0.531–0.653) (improvement; p=0.001) and 0.498 (95% 0.416–0.567) (worsening; p=0.482) when FEV1 and FENO changed in the opposite or same direction, respectively. The manner in which FENO and FEV1 vary concomitantly when asthma control changes determines the ability of FENO to capture this change: parallel or opposite changes in FEV1 and FENO either decrease or increase this ability to capture asthma control changes. Clinicians must take into account FEV1 changes when using FENO as a marker of asthma control http://ow.ly/XFmp30c4emj

Small airways dysfunction: the link between allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma

Abnormal airway reactivity and overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) occurring in small airways have been found in asthma. If the “one airway, one disease” concept is consistent, such dysfunctions should also be detected in the peripheral airways of patients suffering from allergic rhinitis. We investigated whether peripheral airway reactivity and NO overproduction could be documented in distal airways in patients with allergic rhinitis. Exhaled NO fraction (FeNO) and the slope (S) of phase III of the single-breath washout test (SBWT) of helium (He) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) were measured in 31 patients with allergic asthma, 23 allergic rhinitis patients and 24 controls, before and after sputum induction. SBWT is sensitive to airway calibre change occurring in the lung periphery. The FeNO decrease was more significant in asthma and rhinitis than in controls (−55.1% and −50.0%, respectively, versus −40.8%) (p=0.007 and p=0.029, respectively). SSF6 and SHe increased in all groups. Change in SHe (ΔSHe) > ΔSSF6 was observed in rhinitis (p=0.004) and asthma (p<0.001), whereas ΔSSF6 = ΔSHe in controls (p=0.431). This study provides evidence of peripheral airway dysfunction in patients with allergic rhinitis quite similar to that described in asthma. Furthermore, a large proportion of the increased NO production reported in allergic rhinitis appears to originate in the peripheral airways. Abnormal airway reactivity and NO production are detected in peripheral airways of patients with allergic rhinitis http://ow.ly/hSwc30hdOm2