Role of serum eosinophil cationic protein in the monitoring of children with bronchial asthma and rhinitis

Wen Yi Lee, Mei Hui Yang, Li Chen Chen, Syh Jae Lin, Jing Long Huang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), one of the major proteins of eosinophils, has been suggested to reflect the severity of inflammation in the lower airway of bronchial asthma (BA), a paucity of antecedent studies exists concerning the role of serum ECP (sECP) as a predicative marker in the monitoring of intractable asthma. The primary goal of the present study was to evaluate the sequential changes of sECP in asthmatic children with acute exacerbation and inactive period and to compare the levels of sECP in children with BA and allergic rhinitis (AR) with those in children with AR alone. An attempt was made to evaluate the sECP levels longitudinally (at day 0 and 2 months later) to predict treatment outcome. The study population consisted of 22 children with BA and AR and 12 children with AR alone. Measurement of sECP and specific immunoglobulin E antibodies (IgE) was done by Pharmacia CAP system (Pharmacia, Uppsala, Sweden). Both sECP and spirometry were evaluated during acute exacerbations (at day 0) of BA and during an inactive period (2 months later). Levels of sECP in patients with AR alone were measured at day 0. All of the 34 patients were found to be mite sensitive. The sECP levels of asthmatic children with acute exacerbation were much higher than those studied during the inactive period (73.2 ± 43.8 μg/L versus 12.8 ± 10.5 μg/L, respectively, p < 0.01). Two asthmatic children with frequent acute exacerbations had persistently higher sECP levels after intensive anti-inflammatory therapy. The sECP of children with AR alone were lower than those with BA and AR, but were not significantly different (7.6 ± 4.4 versus 12.8 ± 10.5, p > 0.05). The decreased levels of sECP correlated with neither the increased levels of FEV1 nor FEF(25-75%). Measurement of sECP levels may be a useful parameter in the evaluation of the severity of asthma in children and also as an indicator in earlier use of anti-inflammatory therapy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)129-138
Number of pages10
JournalPediatric Asthma, Allergy and Immunology
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Role of serum eosinophil cationic protein in the monitoring of children with bronchial asthma and rhinitis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this