Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Occupational Respiratory Medicine and Environmental Health: State of Art

Abstract

Nitric oxide is a gas detectable in exhaled breath of humans and is recognized as a useful biomarker for asthma diagnosis and monitoring. Several studies have shown evidence of higher levels of exhaled nitric oxide in patients with respiratory diseases as compared with the healthy population. The possibility of using exhaled nitric oxide measurement as a tool for diagnosing and monitoring occupational exposures to allergic or toxic irritants is reviewed and discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• exhaled nitric oxide
• occupational and environmental respiratory diseases

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Petra Gergelova is the recipient of a European Respiratory Society Fellowship nr 20';. This review is the extended version of a lecture given at the Health Aspects of Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution conference (November 12, 2008) in Luxembourg, which was funded by FNR Luxembourg.