FeNO as a predictor of Asthma control in a tertiary care centre in South India

Introduction: Measurement of Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FENO) is a simple, safe and noninvasive method for measuring airway inflammation in patients with Asthma and is believed to be a good marker for corticosteroid response. FeNO is not very commonly used in India, as such there are only limited studies looking at the utility of FeNO, which is a relatively expensive test in the Indian context Objectives: To determine the correlation of FeNO with the Asthma control as measured by Asthma Control Test (ACT) in patients with Asthma presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Trivandrum, South India Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Trivandrum city in South India. 315 consecutive patients with Asthma were evaluated with a structured questionnaire after informed consent. Demographic details, history of the disease, lung function measurements and FeNO were measured for all patients. Results: 315 patients were included in the study, mean age was 24.6yrs (SD-19.9yrs), 75% of patients were females, median duration of symptoms was 10 years and 17.8% of patients had allergic rhinitis. Blood eosinophil count of >8% was present in 25% of patients (75% of patients >4%). Mean FeNO was 62.68ppb (SD-42.34). FeNO correlated poorly with ACT, FEV1 predicted and FEV1/FVC. Median blood eosinophil was higher in patients with FeNO more than 50ppb (p Conclusions: More studies are needed to assess the utility of FeNO in patients with Asthma in India before rolling out the test widely in India.