engleski

Serum eosinophil cationic protein in wheezing infants as a predictor of asthma development

During acute infection of the respiratory tract, infants and small children often experience episodes of wheezing which for some of them represent ther onset of bronchial asthma. Activated eosinophiles play the central part in asthmatic inflammation. The objective of this study was to establish whether infants and small children show evidence of eosinohil activation already during the first eposode of wheezy bronchitis (WB), further on to estimate if the eosinophil cathionic protein (ECP) can be considered as a predictor for later development of asthma, and at the end to analyze which are the most frequently occuring pathogenic microorganisms linked with WB in our patients. In a prospective trial, measurements have been made of the total eosinophil count, ECP and total IgE in serum of 62 infants and small children hospitalized during their first WB episode. Eosinophil activation measured as serum ECP is present at the first WB episode already, and is significantly higher (p<0.005) with those patients who are prone to exacerbations of wheezing during acute infections of upper respiratory tract and which are deemed to develop asthma.

eosinophils ; wheezing ; asthma ; eosinohil cationic protein

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