Journal of breath research
-
The measurement of the peak exhaled breath temperature (EBT) during multiple tidal breaths offers an easy, non-invasive tool for monitoring airway inflammation. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is linked to airway inflammation, which is further aggravated by exacerbations of the disease. However, the peak EBT has not been studied in patients with COPD. ⋯ The breath temperature decreased after recovery from AECOPD (34.10/33.72-34.43/°C, p = 0.008; Wilcoxon test). The peak exhaled breath temperature, recorded during multiple tidal breaths, increases with an acute exacerbation of COPD, and may be related to accelerated airway inflammation. The application of exhaled breath temperature measurements when monitoring the activity of COPD should be further assessed in longitudinal studies.
-
Rapid concentration changes due to physiological or pathophysiological effects rather than appearance of unique disease biomarkers are important for clinical application of breath research. Simple maneuvers such as breath holding may significantly affect breath biomarker concentrations. In this study, exhaled volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations were assessed in real time before and after different breath holding maneuvers. ⋯ When substance concentrations were normalized onto end-tidal CO2 content, variation of acetone concentrations decreased, whereas variations of isoprene concentrations were not affected. As the effects of breathing patterns on exhaled substance concentrations depend on individual substance properties, sampling procedures have to be validated for each compound by means of appropriate real-time analysis. Normalization of exhaled concentrations onto exhaled CO2 is only valid for substances having similar physico-chemical properties as CO2.
-
Firefighters wear fireproof clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) during rescue and fire suppression activities to protect against acute effects from heat and toxic chemicals. Fire services are also concerned about long-term health outcomes from chemical exposures over a working lifetime, in particular about low-level exposures that might serve as initiating events for adverse outcome pathways (AOP) leading to cancer. As part of a larger US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study of dermal exposure protection from safety gear used by the City of Chicago firefighters, we collected pre- and post-fire fighting breath samples and analyzed for single-ring and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as bioindicators of occupational exposure to gas-phase toxicants. ⋯ We found that single ring aromatics and some PAHs were statistically elevated in post-firefighting samples of some individuals, suggesting that fire protective gear may allow for dermal exposures to airborne contaminants. However, in comparison to a previous occupational study of Air Force maintenance personnel where similar compounds were measured, these exposures are much lower suggesting that firefighters' gear is very effective. This study suggests that exhaled breath sampling and analysis for specific targeted compounds is a suitable method for assessing systemic dermal exposure in a simple and non-invasive manner.