%0 Journal Article
%T Effects of atopy and rhinitis on exhaled nitric oxide values - a systematic review
%A Daniela Linhares
%A Tiago Jacinto
%A Ana M Pereira
%A Jo£żo A Fonseca
%J Clinical and Translational Allergy
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/2045-7022-1-8
%X A systematic review was performed in Pubmed, Scopus and ISI Web of Knowledge. A two-step selection process was completed, and from 2357 references 19 were included. The inclusion criteria were: participants without known diseases other than rhinitis; atopy assessement by SPT or Specific IgE; and FeNO measurements according to ATS/ERS recommendations.The 8 articles measuring FeNO in children showed higher values in both allergic rhinitis and atopic children when compared with healthy children. The 11 articles performed in adults observed higher FeNO in AR patients comparatively with either healthy or atopic individuals. However, adult healthy and atopic individuals had similar FeNO values.FeNO values are higher in individuals with rhinitis and/or atopy without other health problems. These effects are small, seem to be independent and should be further studied using multivariate models. The effect of atopy was observed only in children. The combined effect of atopy and rhinitis produced higher FeNO values in adults. These results support that both atopy and rhinitis should be considered when interpreting or when defining FeNO reference values.Exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is associated with asthma [1], and with airway eosinophilia [2]. Recently, it was suggested that FeNO production in the airways is under the influence of Th2 cytokines, IL-4 and IL-13, responsible for induction of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) expression in the airway epithelium, and thus for the increase of FeNO in inflammatory disorders [3].Many individual factors influence FeNO values. In fact, the considerable inter-subject variability hampers the clinical interpretation of FeNO measurements [4,5]. Two important FeNO modifiers are atopy and rhinitis [6]. Some studies reported higher FeNO values in patients with atopy or allergic rhinitis alone [7-9], while others observed a relationship between elevated FeNO values and the exacerbation of rhinitis and the number of positive wheals on skin
%K Exhaled Nitric Oxide
%K Atopy
%K Rhinitis
%K Systematic Review
%U http://www.ctajournal.com/content/1/1/8