The routine assessment of bronchial asthma includes the measurement of pulm
onary function and bronchial hyperreactivity, both of which assess airways
obstruction and smooth muscle contractility, The recent emphasis in the res
earch and therapy of asthma has been on airway inflammation, however, This
is probably because, to date, methods of directly examining lower airway ce
lls and mediators are either invasive (bronchoscopy) or time consuming and
expensive, for example, sputum induction. The analysis of exhaled mediators
promises to provide a simple rapid and repeatable way of noninvasively ass
essing airway inflammation in asthma and other inflammatory airways disease
, Although there are numerous exhaled volatile and nonvolatile substances,
exhaled nitric oxide measurement has excited the most interest, This chapte
r concentrates on the methods available to measure exhaled nitric oxide in
a standardized and repeatable manner and also discusses the potential role
of exhaled nitric oxide in the management of asthma.