These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Induced sputum eosinophilia in ulcerative colitis patients: the lung as a mirror image of intestine?
    Author: Fireman E, Masarwy F, Groisman G, Shtark M, Kopelman Y, Kivity S, Fireman Z.
    Journal: Respir Med; 2009 Jul; 103(7):1025-32. PubMed ID: 19230639.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a systemic disease of unknown etiology with extra-intestinal manifestation. Induced sputum (IS) non-invasively assesses extrapulmonary involvement in Crohn's disease. We sought to determine whether there is a cellular marker of lung injury in UC patients detectable by IS. METHODS: Nineteen UC patients (mean age 46.4+/-11.3 years, disease duration 8.6+/-7.5 years [range 1-25 years] 68.4% males) were studied, 6 with active disease and 13 in remission. Eleven received 5-ASA, 5 received steroids and/or azathioprine and 3 patients were untreated. UC patients were compared with 27 healthy non-smoker controls. IS was recovered after 20 min inhalation of 3% saline with an ultrasonic nebulizer by the selecting plugs method, and 300 cells were differentially cell counted in cytospin Giemsa-stained slides. CD4/CD8 subsets were identified by FACS. Pulmonary function tests were performed by the Jaeger Masterlab spirometer. RESULTS: UC patients' IS contained higher %eosinophils than controls (p=0.05) and lower FEV(1)/FVC ratios (p=0.001). Steroid- and/or azathioprine-treated patients had significantly lower FEV(1)/FVC ratios than only 5-ASA-treated patients (p=0.019). Eosinophil infiltration in airways was high in 5-ASA-treated patients compared to those receiving steroids and/or azathioprine (p=0.046) and those with less extensive disease (p=0.05). Using a cutoff of 3% eosinophils, IS had a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 73% to differentiate patients with a cutoff of 70 eosinophils/mm(2) in biopsy. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of sputum eosinophils is significantly different between UC patients with proctitis and pancolitis. These immune abnormalities may be a common pattern that is present throughout the mucosae.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]