Airway infection, systemic inflammation and lung clearance index in children and adults with cystic fibrosis

The lung clearance index (LCI) is a measure of ventilation distribution derived from multiple breath washout (MBW). It is a promising measure for monitoring early lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF) [1–4] and is increasingly being used as a surrogate efficacy endpoint in CF clinical trials [5, 6]. LCI is reliable and more sensitive than forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) in detecting lung disease in infants, children and adults with CF [7–9], tracks early disease progression and symptoms [3], and predicts the onset of pulmonary exacerbations [10]. LCI has been shown to be elevated in infants and younger children with respiratory infection and correlates with airway inflammation, measured using a range of biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage [11–13]. However, there are few data on how LCI relates to markers of infection and inflammation in children >6 years and adults.

Source: European Respiratory Journal - January 31, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: O'Neill, K., Bradley, J. M., Reid, A., Downey, D. G., Rendall, J., McCaughan, J., Moore, J. E., Tunney, M. M., Elborn, J. S. Tags: CF and non-CF bronchiectasis Original Articles: Research letters Source Type: research