Patients with confirmed asthma showed higher FeNO levels. A cut-off value of 40 ppb was calculated as the most efficient for asthma diagnosis in our population. The use of FeNO measurement may be a helpful tool to rule out a diagnosis of asthma, especially in patients in whom a methacholine challenge is not feasible or available.

Background: The risk factors for asthma exacerbations are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients who experience asthma exacerbations. We also assessed potential triggers of exacerbations and possible predictors of hospitalization. Methods: A retrospective, noninterventional cohort study was conducted in adult patients who attended the emergency department of a tertiary hospital with an asthma exacerbation during 2014.

In this population, patients who had multiple ED visits in 1 year, those with uncontrolled asthma, wheezing, ≥400 blood eosinophils/μL, or who had been discharged at the first ED visit are at higher risk of relapse.

SOCS proteins probably contribute to EoE pathogenesis by directly or indirectly inducing the Th2 profile, as well as by promoting the production of Th2 cytokines. All these findings further enhance our understanding of the mechanism of EoE, and accumulating evidence suggests that EoE pathogenesis is likely to be due to misregulation of immunological pathways.

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