Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Acute Phase of Bronchiolitis and Its Relation with Episodes of Subsequent Wheezing in Children of Preschool Age

Background: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) levels are increased in children with asthma and in infants with recurrent wheezing, but the role of FENO in the acute phase of bronchiolitis is still not defined. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate FENO values in the acute phase of bronchiolitis, compare them with healthy infants, and relate those values with the appearance of other wheezing episodes. Methods: FENO values were determined in infants between 2 months and 2 years affected with RVS bronchiolitis by offline method. The FENO values collected in the acute phase were related with the respiratory clinical symptoms presented in the 2 years following the episode. Results: A total of 30 patients were recruited: 15 in the bronchiolitis group and 15 in the control group. The average of the FENO values in the acute phase was 18.74 ppb (range 2-88) in the bronchiolitis group, and 8.75 ppb (range 2-24) in the control group. However, these results showed no significant statistical differences (p=0.176). Nevertheless, we found a positive correlation between the FENO values and the clinical score (Downes) of the bronchiolitis episode (p=0.023). In infants that presented other wheezing episodes in the 2 years after, the average of FENO in the acute phase of the first episode was 23.1 ppb (average of 10.25 ppb) versus 8.4 ppb (average 5.4 ppb) in the group of patients with no other episodes. The comparison of averages has no statistical significance. Conclusion: We found no differences in FENO between infants with bronchiolitis and healthy ones. The FENO values in the acute phase seems to be related to the severity of the disease but do not predict the appearance of wheezing episodes in the following 2 years.