RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Evidence for eosinophil activation in bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis and bronchopulmonary aspergillosis: discrepancy between blood eosinophil counts and serum eosinophil cationic protein levels
JF Thorax
JO Thorax
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society
SP 498
OP 500
DO 10.1136/thx.53.6.498
VO 53
IS 6
A1 Claus Kroegel
A1 Marc Schüler
A1 Martin Förster
A1 Ruedi Braun
A1 Paul Reinhard Grahmann
YR 1998
UL http://thorax.bmj.com/content/53/6/498.abstract
AB BACKGROUND Increased serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) have been detected in adolescent patients with cystic fibrosis. However, ECP concentrations in adult patients with bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis have not been studied.METHODS Eosinophil numbers and serum concentrations of ECP were determined in 14 patients with known or newly diagnosed bronchiectasis and compared with age and sex matched patients with allergic bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and controls in whom bronchiectasis or obstructive pulmonary disease could be excluded.RESULTS Serum ECP levels were significantly raised both in patients with bronchiectasis (median (range) 22.5 μg/l (7–85)) and allergic asthma (35.0 μg/l (7–128)) compared with the sex and age matched subjects suffering from COPD (6.7 μg/l (1.5–28); p<0.006) and non-obstructive normal controls (7.5 μg/l (3.5–19); p<0.003). In contrast, significantly increased peripheral eosinophil numbers were observed in patients with bronchial asthma (305 × 106/l; p<0.01) but not in those with bronchiectasis (102 × 106/l), COPD (117 × 106/l), and healthy controls (101 × 106/l).CONCLUSIONS The discrepancy between eosinophil counts and eosinophil numbers in patients with bronchiectasis suggests that serum ECP levels may be more relevant in assessing local eosinophil involvement than blood eosinophil numbers.