SINGLE-BREATH NITRIC-OXIDE MEASUREMENTS IN ASTHMATIC-PATIENTS AND SMOKERS

Exhaled nitric oxide (NO) concentrations were measured in asthmatic ou tpatients and in non-smoking and smoking healthy controls. In single e xhalations, NO showed a peak suggestive of airway origin in both contr ols and asthmatic patients. The peak NO concentration was higher in as thmatic patients and lower in smokers than in non-smoking controls (p< 0.05). The findings support a role for NO in the host defence response in asthma and suggest that NO measurements can discriminate between d ifferent types of lung disorders.