Abstract
Background: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is useful for the evaluation of eosinophilic airway inflammation, including that seen in asthma. Although a new electrochemical hand-held FENO analyzer, the NIOX VERO® (Aerocrine AB, Solna, Sweden), is clinically convenient to use, it has not been fully compared with the chemiluminescence stationary electrochemical analyzer NOA280i® (Sievers Instruments, Boulder, CO, USA) in terms of the level of measured FENO. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a difference between the two analyzers. Methods: The FENO levels measured with both NIOX VERO® and NOA280i® were evaluated in 1,369 adults at Juntendo University Hospital from May 2016 to October 2016. Results: The median FENO level measured with the NIOX VERO® was significantly lower than that measured with the NOA280i® (41 ppb, range 5–368 ppb vs. 29 ppb, range 5–251 ppb; p < 0.001). There was a strong positive correlation in the measurement of FENO level between the NOA280i® and the NIOX VERO® (r = 0.942, p < 0.001). The following conversion equation was calculated: FENO (NOA280i®) = 1.362 (SE, 0.661) + 1.384 (SE, 0.021) × FENO (NIOX VERO®). Conclusions: To our best knowledge, we have provided the first report showing that the measured FENO level with the NIOX VERO® was approximately 30% lower than that with the NOA280i® and that there was a significant correlation between the measurements of these two devices. The correction equation that we provided may help assess the data obtained by these two analyzers.
Abbreviations | ||
ATS | = | American Thoracic Society |
BMI | = | Body mass index |
ERS | = | European Respiratory Society |
FENO | = | Fractional exhaled nitric oxide |
GINA | = | Global Initiative for Asthma |
NO | = | Nitric oxide |
ppb | = | Parts per billion |
ROC | = | Receiver operating characteristic |
SD | = | Standard deviation |
Declaration of interest
KT received honoraria from AstraZeneca K.K., Boehringer Ingelheim Japan, Inc., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., MSD K.K., and Pfizer Inc. JO is an employee of Shino-Test Corporation. RA received honoraria from Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The rest of the authors have no conflict of interest.